This month, the Crisp County School System Transportation Department received a generous donation to help enhance student safety.
Crisp Regional Hospital donated fifty-two "Stop the Bleed" kits to be distributed to all bus drivers in the school system.
The "Stop the Bleed" initiative is a public education program launched in 2014 by the American College of Surgeons to teach life-saving techniques for controlling bleeding.
Ashley Bullington, Trauma Program Manager, RN, at Crisp Regional Hospital, says they want to ensure they are preparing the community.
"It's just a way to provide education as far as injury prevention within our community. If something were to happen, many people don't really think of schools as a massive bleeding or riding on the bus, but you never know what could happen. It could save someone's life," Bullington said.
Dedra Davis, Assistant Transportation Director for Crisp County Schools, says this is their first time providing these types of kits to drivers and is grateful for the support.
"I think that these are going to be really helpful, and it was even more helpful because the EMS and the nurses were able to host this big training to be able to have hands-on with actually being able to use all this equipment," Davis explained. "It was just generously donated, and we're grateful. I would like to say to the parents that we're going to make sure that we have everything on hand to be able to protect children if there's a situation that arises on the bus."
Each kit includes instructions on how to use it, wound packing gauze, gloves, a marker, a tourniquet, trauma shears, and a survival blanket.
All bus drivers and monitors attended training before school started on how to properly use the kits.
Bullington says they've already distributed the kits to the primary and elementary schools.
She says their goal is to hopefully distribute them to all the surrounding schools.
"As a trauma center part of what we do, it is our duty as a trauma center, to provide education and injury prevention to the different areas and to the different members of our community. And one of those targets is being the schools. It's been a huge campaign for years," Bullington said. "It's just a way to provide education as far as injury prevention within our community. If something were to happen, many people don't really think of schools as a massive bleeding or riding on the bus, but you never know what could happen. It could save someone's life."
Davis says they anticipate distributing the kits throughout the buses later this month.
As well as providing additional training to keep drivers prepared.
"We're gonna also be looking at getting the bus drivers some CPR training, also, and to make sure that the bus drivers are equipped and the monitors with what they need to assess children and make sure that they're safe," Davis said. "I want to say to the bus drivers that I appreciate them being able to want to do this to help children."
