From left, Dr. Chris Goliver, Mary Holcomb, and Catawba Island Police Chief John Gangway collaborated to equip the police department with MOLLE bags filled with emergency care supplies. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

BY SHERI TRUSTY

Mary Holcomb holds one of the MOLLE bags that were purchased for the Catawba Island Police Department with donations given to honor the life of her late husband, former police officer, Todd Holcomb. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

CATAWBA ISLAND – When Todd Holcomb of Catawba Island passed away unexpectedly in February, his widow, Mary Holcomb, wanted to find a way to honor his life. Todd served for ten years in the Air Force and was a police officer with the Catawba Island Police Department from 1992 to 2002, so Mary funded the purchase of MOLLE bags equipped with lifesaving, emergency care supplies for the police department.

Mary placed a donation box at Todd’s celebration of life to raise money to honor her husband. When she approached Catawba Island Police Chief John Gangway about making a donation, the timing was fortuitous. He had recently been talking with Dr. Chris Goliver about MOLLE bags.

“We were talking about the cost of them when Mary came in. She wanted to do something to honor Todd, so she donated $500, and it paid for the bags and the contents of the bags,” Gangway said. “We have six bags – one for each officer.”

Goliver was a firefighter before entering his medical career and is a former medical director for St. Vincent’s Mercy Medical Center Life Flight, so he understands the necessity of equipping police officers with the capability to save lives in emergency situations when life can be lost in the minutes it takes for an ambulance to arrive.

Police officers are often the first people on the scene of an emergency.

“It can be a seconds-to-moments thing when you’re trying to save a life,” Goliver said.

The MOLLE bags are lightweight and equipped with a variety of supplies, including nasal airway equipment, chest seals for deep wounds, pressure dressing, tourniquets for extremities, and hemostatic agents for non-extremities.

Gangway said the supplies will be vital in many emergency scenarios, from gunshots and car accidents to falls off ladders. According to the National Safety Council, it is estimated that about 220,000 out of every 300,000 unintentional deaths in the United States are preventable. Those preventable deaths include deaths from respiratory distress, delays in treatment, and uncontrolled bleeding, which is the leading cause of traumatic preventable deaths.

Tactical medicine, which is emergency care provided in hostile or dangerous situations, such as an active shooter situation, requires supplies for immediate action. According to information provided by Goliver, over 60% of preventable tactical deaths are the result of bleeding to death from arm or leg wounds, and over 30% are caused by easily treated chest injuries.

The late Todd Holcomb served as a Catawba Island police officer from 1992 to 2002. (Submitted photo)

“That being said, you bleed the same for ladder falls as you do for gunshot wounds,” Goliver said.

In relation to preventable deaths, immediate treatment offers the greatest chance of survival, and the MOLLE bags give the Catawba Island police officers the tools to give accident and violence victims their best chance at life in the earliest moments of an emergency.

“The police are heroes here on Catawba. What they do for us is incredible. Those blue lights behind you might be there to save your life,” Goliver said. “They can provide immediate lifesaving care in seconds-to-minutes emergencies. They can keep a victim alive until EMS gets there, who keeps them alive until they get to trauma care. It’s a team effort.”

Gangway has been a police officer and a firefighter for 45 years, giving him a unique perspective on emergency care.

Pictured are a few of the items in the MOLLE bags that Catawa Island police officers now carry. (Photo by Sheri Trusty)

“We do life and limb first and cop stuff after that. That’s our mantra here. Our office lives that here every day,” Gangway said. “Because we’re the first on scene, we’re happy to do everything we can to help them survive, and the MOLLE bags are really specific for tactical and trauma.”

Todd Holcomb’s name is stitched onto each Catawba Island MOLLE bag, creating a lasting legacy of his life of service.

“My husband would do anything to save another person’s life,” Mary said. “He’d do anything for anybody.”