On average, it can take seven minutes for first responders to arrive at the scene of an emergency.
In five minutes, a child can bleed out from a gunshot wound or die from not being able to breathe.
With the right training in crisis response, the average person can take action within five to seven minutes that could save a person’s life.
After the Parkland, Florida, school shooting last month that left 17 people dead, many schools across the country are looking for additional methods to keep children safe.
That’s why Steve Stark would like to see Trauma Care Training for Schools offered in Jackson County. His wife is a retired educator from Seymour Community School Corp.
The Trauma Care Training for Schools program arms educators and school employees not with firearms but with the knowledge and tools to be more than a bystander during an emergency, such as a school shooting.
“We’re trying to be proactive and do something positive,” Stark said.
Although a class has not been scheduled yet in Jackson County, Stark said it’s only a matter of getting enough interest from educators and school employees.
The training is offered free by the Civilian Crisis Response Team, a group of volunteers trained to help during emergencies that range from car accidents to major disasters, including tornadoes, floods and hurricanes.
Stark has been a member of the team since October.
The three-hour Trauma Care Training for Schools is free, and those who complete the course will receive a certificate to document their participation. Teachers will earn three Professional Growth Points for attending.
As part of the program, educator trauma aid kits also are made available through business and private donations. The kits, which cost $55, include tourniquets, pressure dressings, chest wound seals and a nasopharyngeal airway to help a victim breathe.
Uncontrolled bleeding is the No. 1 cause of preventable death from trauma followed by compromised breathing from an injury to the chest wall or a collapsed airway, said John Grounds, lead instructor for Trauma Care Training for Schools and one of the founders of the Civilian Crisis Response Team.
“Modern technology, training and understanding of wound mechanism have given us the ability to greatly increase the number of people who survive trauma,” Grounds said. “A few simple items in a pocket-sized medical kit and the proper training can help save a life if someone, including yourself, is injured.”
Anyone wanting to make a donation to fund the kits may do so at gofundme.com/educator039s-trauma-aid-kit-etak.
“Every school in the U.S. has fire extinguishers and practices routine fire drills throughout the school year, and not one student has died in a school fire for several decades,” Grounds said. “Most of the students who die as the result of an intentional or unintentional trauma lose their life due to blood loss with loss of airway being the second leading cause. Yet very few schools actually have quality trauma kits on site.
“We want to fill that need by providing quality medical supplies and simple yet effective training to school staff who wish to receive it,” he said.
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For information or to sign up for a Trauma Care Training for Schools program, contact the Civilian Crisis Response Team at 888-945-2278, visit facebook.com/traumacaretrainingforschools or email [email protected].
Anyone wanting to make a donation to fund the educator trauma aid kits can do so at gofundme.com/educator039s-trauma-aid-kit-etak.
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