Southeastern nursing students to offer bleeding control training
Monday, October 30, 2017
by: Tonya Lowentritt
HAMMOND – A group of senior Southeastern Louisiana University nursing students has
joined a community training program effort called “Stop the Bleed” geared toward improving
bystander response to trauma through bleeding control know how.
The national program will be locally administered by Southeastern’s College of
Nursing and Health Sciences and North Oaks Health System Trauma Program with support
from Louisiana Council of Emergency Nurses and the Rho Zeta Chapter of the national
nursing honor society Sigma Theta Tau International.
“Victims of trauma can die quickly from uncontrolled bleeding – within five to
ten minutes,” said nursing student Gabriella Pastore. “Recent active shooter events
have certainly heightened awareness for public response to traumatic injury.”
The students will be offering hands-on training on how to control bleeding after
an injury through proper tourniquet and pressure dressing use. They will train Southeastern
students and faculty on Nov. 8, from 3 – 4:30 p.m. in the Kinesiology and Health Studies
building, located at 400 Mane St., room 2007. Although the campus training is free,
registration is required at www.surveymonkey.com/r/bleedcontrolprogram to ensure enough
room for all participants.
Free training will also be offered to the public on Nov. 11, at Beacon Light
Baptist Church, 500 E. Hanson St. in Hammond from 2 to 4 p.m. No registration is required
for this training.
No experience is necessary to receive the training, and certificates of participation
will be distributed upon completion of the program.
Supported by the Department of Homeland Security, American College of Surgeons
and other stakeholders, “Stop the Bleed” is a grassroots effort to empower bystanders
to help in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives, Pastore added.
The students are conducting the program as part of their capstone nursing course,
a community outreach research course required of all senior nursing students at Southeastern.
Nursing Instructor Melissa Wafer is serving as the faculty mentor on the project and
said she is proud of how her students partnered with North Oaks for the project. She
said North Oaks plans to continue the training sessions long after the capstone project
is complete.
“North Oaks will continue the training for the community on an ongoing basis
as an outreach of their trauma program,” Wafer said. “We are very excited to partner
with them, as they have always supported nursing education excellence at Southeastern.”
Additional information is available at www.bleedingcontrol.org or from Wafer at mwafer@southeastern.edu.