GREEN COVE SPRINGS – In the aftermath of the Parkland high school shooting, state health officials are doing their part to make Florida schools safer in the event of an unspeakable …
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GREEN COVE SPRINGS – In the aftermath of the Parkland high school shooting, state health officials are doing their part to make Florida schools safer in the event of an unspeakable tragedy.
Every Clay County school is now equipped with a Stop the Bleed kit due to the Region 3 Healthcare Coalition.
Stop the Bleed kits are packed with tools to stop heavy bleeding such as tourniquets, gauze and more. All Clay County school faculty members have already undergone extensive active assailant training which included lessons in how to use the kits.
“We worked with hospitals, rescue services and EMS in the area to train faculty in how to respond in an active assailant situation and how to stop the bleed with these kits,” Region 3 Healthcare Coalition Emergency Preparedness Director Beth Payne said.
The trainings began June 21 and now, with school already in session, parents and students can rest easy knowing that not only are all faculty trained to exercise appropriate security response measures in a number of tragic situations, but they’re trained to stop the bleeding that sadly, often occurs in such situations as well.
According to the Clay County School District Support Services Director Bruce Harvin, the Clay County School District worked with Clay County Emergency Management, all Clay County law enforcement agencies and fire rescue agencies to conduct active assailant table-top exercises. During these exercises, not only was faculty trained in the use of the kits, but how to wear proper attire that could save a life as well. According to Harvin, all faculty are instructed to incorporate belts, undershirts and ties into their attire as each of these clothing pieces can act as a resource to stop extensive bleeding. For example, if a tourniquet isn’t around, a teacher could use their belt.
As of now, there are 258 kits in all public Clay County schools with each school receiving a number of kits based on student population. Payne said there were an additional number of kits given to Clay County to put into public buildings.
The Region 3 Healthcare Coalition officials hope to see multiple kits in every public building such as the Clay County Courthouse and more. The Northeast Florida Healthcare Coalition distributed around 3,000 Stop the Bleed kits to 18 counties. Each county is free to determine how best to utilize their given kits, too. For example, one county might have a history with situations where kids end up bleeding on a school bus. That county might equip all school buses with a Stop the Bleed kit. Despite each county’s decision, every county’s school will be equipped with kits.
“There’s different approaches happening in each county but at the end of the day, at least every school in a given county will have multiple kits,” Payne said.
According to Payne, the Region 3 Healthcare Coalition is one of three in North Florida and one of 15 in Florida. The focus of each coalition is to provide disaster help for the healthcare communities within in county, which began as a national initiative following the Sandy Hook school shooting. The help each coalition provides comes in many forms such as training, funding and more. Each $40 Stop the Bleed kit was purchased by the State of Florida using funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
One of the main priorities for Clay County, other than having the right resources within each kit, was the expiration date. According to Payne, it was important for the county’s school district to receive kits that are filled with supplies that don’t expire.
According to Clay County Emergency Management Director John Ward, while nobody hopes to have to use the kits, teachers and staffers were thankful and happy to learn how to use the Stop the Bleed kits.
“Obviously, none of us ever want to see these things used but if a tragic situation ever occurs, we are all trained in how to best handle the situation and how to use these kits,” Ward said.