The training this weekend is part of the national campaign, Stop the Bleed, which gained momentum after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Connecticut in 2012, according to Mercy Hospital Springfield.
"A bunch of the leaders in the nation got together and thought, 'how can we stop people from dying from preventable deaths with just some basic hemorrhage techniques for that life threatening bleeding situation?'" said Keith Schaefer, director of Trauma Services at Mercy Hospital Springfield.
According to Schaefer, Springfield needs this message as much as anyone else in the United States, especially with its nearby agricultural areas and its large manufacturing base—places where life threatening bleeding can occur. That’s why Mercy, CoxHealth, Springfield’s Police and Fire Departments, Missouri State University, Ozarks Technical Community College and the City of Springfield came together to offer the free training Saturday, March 31, at 9 a.m. at Lincoln Hall, Room 211, at Ozarks Technical Community College's Springfield campus.
According to Schaefer, it’s for anyone who might be in a position to save a life.
"Just like CPR is for cardiac arrest this program is designed to teach like a national resilience for bleeding control," he said.
It often takes several minutes for emergency personnel to arrive, he said, yet it can take only a few minutes for life threatening bleeding to kill someone.
The class this weekend will teach techniques that aren’t reliant on basic supplies. Instructors will wear t-shirts that read “this shirt can save a life,” he said.
It will consist of lectures and slides that teach what life threatening bleeding looks like.
"And then, depending on what tools you have in your arsenal, how you can intervene to save a life," he said.
The class will also include hands-on components.
Registration for the free hour-long training is requested here or by calling (417) 820-3244.
