Area educators and school employees had the opportunity to learn life-saving techniques at a Stop the Bleed program Wednesday at the Texarkana, Ark., Convention Center, a first in Arkansas.
"Stop the Bleed is an initiative to teach non-medical citizens to respond to life-threatening injuries. It teaches them how to decrease bleeding or hemorrhage-control to save lives," said Dr. Matt Young, area trauma coordinator and physician owner of Texarkana Emergency Center. "This is a first for the State of Arkansas to hold an event for the school districts. Texarkana Emergency Center helped organize and lead the charge with our community partners to provide training and kits."
There were about 45 participants who attended the program. Participants went through a Power Point presentation for the first hour or so and then received hands-on training.
The training was free and each district that attended received three Stop the Bleed kits, Young said. Those kits include tourniquets, combat gauze, compression dressing, trauma shears and gloves.
Ark. Rep. Carol Dalby (R) attended Stop the Bleed and supported bringing the program to this area after she went through training herself.
"We were trained during the last legislative session. I was just real excited about the benefits it could bring to our area. I could see how important it would be for school staff to be trained. I wasn't thinking just in terms of mass shootings but accidents as well," Dalby said. "Hopefully we'll eventually have one of these kits by every defibrillator in every school. It's so important to get this training."
Felecia M. Thomas, a nurse at Ashdown High School, went through the training and appreciated the knowledge presented.
"It has absolutely been informational. I've really enjoyed the training and the seminar. I would encourage all schools to take part in this," Thomas said.
It took a lot of community support to make Stop the Bleed happen.
"We want to thank our community partners- the Texarkana, Ark. Convention Center, CHRISTUS St. Michael (Health System), LifeNet, the Texarkana, Ark., School District, Wadley (Regional Medical Center) and all of our instructors," Young said.