HONESDALE, PA — Close to 70 Wallenpaupack School District faculty members learned something on August 29 that they hope never to use: how to stop life-threatening bleeding. Five Wayne Memorial Hospital (WMH)nurses taught the teachers in three separate sessions how to recognize a devastating bleed from a limb or other part of the body, how to apply pressure, how to properly place and tie a tourniquet and how to “pack” a wound to staunch the blood. 

“Stop the Bleed is a course devised by a coalition of experts after the Sandy Hook school massacre,” said Chandra Roberts, RN, WMH, “Some of the victims might have lived if they had not ‘bled out.’ A person can bleed to death in less than 10 minutes.”

The American College of Surgeons worked with medical professionals from the military, first-responder groups and the FBI to develop Stop the Bleed, which is now being promoted to community groups, schools and health organizations across the country.

Joseph “Dan” Granville, a Physical Education teacher with Wallenpaupack, admitted that 10 years ago, this kind of training wasn’t even on the horizon for him. “It floors me to think about it, but it’s a good thing to be prepared. And it can be used during lots of events, not just shootings but also vehicle and sports accidents.”

Roberts was joined by WMH nurses Lisa Grecco, RN/manager Home Health; Daniela Davis, RN/Home Health; Mary Kate Ruddy, RN; and Dana Gallik, RN.

To invite the Stop the Bleed program to your workplace call 570/253-8100.