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District launches 'Stop the Bleed' training, accepts 90 trauma kits for school emergency response
Summary
District to train school emergency-response teams in bleeding control and distribute 90 trauma kits to campuses; training scheduled March 17 and instructors include nurses from University Medical Center.
The St. Bernard Parish School Board heard a presentation Jan. 28 about expanding school medical emergency response capabilities with a "Stop the Bleed" initiative and a 90-kit trauma-kit donation obtained via a grant.
Lori McGinnis, who manages the district's medical emergency response plan (MERP), told the board the district will train members of each school's MERP team in bleeding-control techniques and distribute trauma kits to campuses. "We have a grant that's provided by LEARN, which is Louisiana Emergency Response Network," McGinnis said. The training is based on a national awareness campaign that grew from the Hartford Consensus following mass-casualty incidents.
McGinnis said the training was originally scheduled for Jan. 21 but was postponed because of a district snow day; it has been rescheduled for March 17, with two sessions planned to accommodate about 60 staff. Nurses from University Medical Center will serve as instructors, and the district plans to certify school nurses to train others after the initial sessions so the full MERP team at each school can be trained by the end of the year.
The district accepted 90 trauma kits through a contact at GOSEP, McGinnis said. Each kit contains (as described in the meeting) an elastic tourniquet, a windlass tourniquet, a vented chest seal, bandage shears, gloves, hemostatic clotting gauze, a bandage, a black marker, and a triage pad. The district plans to place one kit next to each AED and distribute the remainder to schools.
Nut graf: The initiative adds bleeding-control tools and training to existing emergency protocols (CPR, AED, EpiPen, naloxone/Narcan) and aims to equip bystanders and trained staff to intervene before professional responders arrive.
Board members asked for a restatement of who will receive training; McGinnis clarified that MERP teams of roughly 10–12 people per school plus health and PE teachers and one staff member from each school will participate. She said the district also maintains stockpiled EpiPens under physician order and provides annual Red Cross certification in CPR and first aid for staff.
Ending: The board received the report and expressed appreciation for the grant and staff work; there was no formal vote to adopt a new policy. McGinnis said kits will be placed next to AEDs and staff training will begin in March.
