Iowa County Distributes Stop the Bleed Kits to Schools
Every school in Jasper County, Iowa, will be receiving a Stop the Bleed Kit, which will contain materials to help people who’ve been hurt.
- By Jessica Davis
- March 11, 2019
Every school in Jasper County, Iowa, will be receiving a Stop the Bleed Kit, which will contain materials to help people who’ve been hurt. The effort to get the kits into schools has been in the works for about six to eight months.
"In each kit are 8 separate packs of bleeding control," Jasper County Sheriff John Halferty said.
Each Stop the Bleed kit contains compression bandages and a tourniquet, among other materials. The goal is to be able to help people who’ve been injured in a mass casualty event, as helping someone who’s bleeding out could save their life.
According to Halferty, the program is like calling in backup for first responders by training people to start helping before first responders arrive.
"The reality is if we can teach bystanders and people that are present to take steps and stop the bleed, they can prevent death," Halferty said.
People are trained on how to use the Stop the Bleed kit by Jasper County Emergency Management and the Sheriff’s Office.
Schools are enthusiastic about the additional safety measure.
"It is fantastic to see that outside agencies are looking to help us be prepared for tragic events we hope that never happen,” Newton High School Principal Bill Peters said. "Years ago if you were to tell me we would have this conversation, I would say you're crazy. But today you need to be prepared and hopefully it never happens to you, but if you're not, we have seen what can happen."
The Stop the Bleed Kits will be placed on campuses within the next few weeks. Jasper County used grants from community organizations to purchase the kits, which are worth about $900 each.
About the Author
Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.