Teachers in White Plains learn life-saving medical skill to respond to emergencies, mass shootings
WHITE PLAINS, Westchester County (WABC) -- Before her students head back to school, middle school teacher Nisse Varghese is learning a lesson of her own: how to apply a tourniquet to someone who is bleeding heavily.
Over 60 teachers and staffers in the White Plains School District in Westchester County were taught this emergency medical skill as a part of a training program that helps educators and staff respond effectively to mass shootings.
Doctors and nurses at White Plains Hospital are providing this training as part of the "Stop the Bleed" initiative, which was created after Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
From school buildings to battlefields, data shows the chance of survival increases if blood loss is stopped before medics arrive.
School shootings and mass casualty incidents may come to mind, but medical professionals stress there are other situations where this training could save a life.
Participants also learn how to pack and apply pressure to open wounds. Kits with clotting material and military-grade tourniquets will be distributed to schools.
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