High school faculty learns how to ‘Stop the Bleed’
COHOES, N.Y. >> During a Thursday faculty meeting at Cohoes High School, the teachers were the students, and the lesson they learned could save a life.
Professionals from Albany Medical Center, Cohoes school nurses and a Cohoes firefighter were on hand to teach Stop the Bleed, a program which demonstrates how to recognize and control life-threatening bleeding.
Participants were shown the steps to address serious bleeding before first responders arrive.
“It’s critical to have the basic knowledge and a comfort level so that they can do something instead of being bystanders,” Tom Moran, Trauma Education, Injury Prevention and Outreach Coordinator at Albany Med said.
The Stop the Bleed program was created in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting but it provides a skill set that can be applied in many situations.
“An arterial bleed can bleed out in 30 to 90 seconds,” Russ Coonradt, Cohoes Fire Department EMS coordinator said. “The lifesavers in a lot of these situations are just average people who act quickly before first responders arrive.”
As part of the lesson, teachers were able to practice their newly learned skills (which included applying pressure, packing a wound and placing a tourniquet) on prosthetic limbs.
“Our number one priority is to keep students, faculty
and staff safe,” Principal Bryan Wood said. “It’s likely that someone in this building, at some point in their lives, will witness a bleeding emergency and they can help save a life.”
Stop the Bleed will be taught to faculty members in all Cohoes schools by mid-February. District leaders also plan to purchase trauma kits to be placed next to all AED machines district-wide.