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.




More News...