On Nov. 27, Sage Hill’s Safety and Security Manager Adam Patterson presented to the freshman class in the UBE about first aid and methods to “Stop the Bleed,” training students to be first responders in cases of life-threatening bleeding.
Uncontrolled bleeding is a major cause of preventative deaths with about 40% of trauma-related deaths worldwide linked to bleeding or its consequences, according to the American College of Surgeons. A person can bleed out in as little as three to five minutes, which is often faster than paramedics and emergency medical technicians can respond. The rise of gun violence in schools and other public places has given first responders a new urgency to educate the public, Patterson said.
“Everyone can be the first responder,” Patterson said. “It is the first person that can take immediate action on a person, and that is often the most important time of saving a person’s life. So it is crucial to teach kids, not only adults, about this first aid information because the first responder can be you.”
The “ABC” is a simple method of bleeding control where you first “‘Alert,’” then find the wound, and finally put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. The students were also given the opportunity to receive a hands-on “Stop the Bleed” certification, where they used a tourniquet and gauze on a dummy.
“Today, I learned how to control bleeding and to be a first responder to an emergency,” freshman Jonathan Yii said.
“I learned how to tie a tourniquet and stop bleeding by stuffing gauze into the wound,” freshman Audrey Reynolds said.
