FORT WORTH – A new program will help equip educators in Fort Worth with life-saving first aid skills and supplies that could be used in a classroom.
From Sandy Hook to Parkland, mass school shootings have forced educators to rethink how to make schools safer. The new program, which is being developed through a collaboration between Cook Children's Hospital and Fort Worth Firefighter Charities, will help teachers learn to use first aid techniques if students or faculty suffer a traumatic injury.
"They can respond and take care of some child's life," said Mike Drivdahl, with Fort Worth Firefighter Charities.
They have secured funding for more than 3,000 first aid kits to be placed in classrooms, and this summer, they'll begin training school nurses and educators in an approximately two-hour class. Attendees will learn how to stop bleeding with their supplies, which include multiple styles of tourniquets that might be necessary.
They will get practical experience applying tourniquets to small arms using a custom-rigged device that simulates blood flow.
"The sooner you stop that bleeding, the better the outcome for the child," said Sharon Evans, Cook Children's. "It is very critical, especially for kids. They don't have as much blood volume as an adult does."
The plan is to train teachers at all Fort Worth ISD schools, but eventually they hope to expand to other districts in North Texas. While they hope teachers never have to use their knowledge, they believe the techniques could be lifesaving in numerous situations.
"This may not be an active shooter situation. It could be the kid who has an accident in shop class," said Drivdahl. "We're giving teachers the skills and tools to really make a difference."