Maryland's Shock Trauma Center takes its "Stop The Bleed" campaign to Dulaney High School
BALTIMORE -- Anyone can save a life by learning a few skills.
That's why the University of Maryland's Shock Trauma Center brought its "Stop The Bleed" campaign to Dulaney High School on Monday.
Nearly 200 Baltimore County School nurses and medical assistants converged at the school and practiced critical skills to stop bleeding—using direct pressure, packing wounds, and applying tourniquets.
"The community is actually the first responder," Shock Trauma Nurse CJ Meyer said. "You don't need to be a nurse or a doctor to save someone's life. So, by teaching a person the skill set, they can actually help out in a tragic event. It could be a construction accident, or a car accident, or something in your home."
It only takes 5–10 minutes for a victim to die from uncontrolled bleeding.
Shock Trauma's "Stop The Bleed" campaign began in 2017. Since then, trauma doctors and nurses have trained more than 40,000 people in Maryland. They want this training to be just as common as learning CPR.
"Bleeding out is what kills people," Leslie Perry, a registered nurse at Hereford High School, said. "It's not the shotgun wound or the knife wound of the glass wound. It's losing too much blood."
She wants to teach these skills to teachers, students, and parents in her community.
"At my school, we've had a couple of kids flip their ATVs," Perry said. "We've had chainsaw injuries. That's what I'm worried about. Kids don't always make the best decisions. And that's where 'Stop The Bleed' comes in handy."
Schools, churches, and businesses statewide have done "Stop The Bleed" training.