PELHAM – More than 350 Pelham City Schools faculty and staff have been trained on how to help during potentially deadly bleeding emergencies as a part of a national campaign called Stop the Bleed.

Stop the Bleed is a national campaign and a call-to-action. It encourages bystanders to become trained, equipped and empowered to help in a bleeding emergency before professional help arrives.

Victims can die within five to 10 minutes from uncontrolled bleeding, according to the American College of Surgeons website.

UAB trauma surgeon Dr. Jeff Kerby introduced the Stop the Bleed initiative to UAB. UAB trauma surgeons and nurses trained the police department’s Tactical Operations Unit on how to stop bleeding.

“They brought it to us and saw our capacity to teach others, so we got our certifications to teach it to the community,” said PPD Sgt. James Carter.

The Tactical Operations Unit began training teachers and staff at Pelham High School in the spring of last school year. Floyd Collins, PCS Director of Operations, said the initiative was so well received that PCS decided to train teachers and staff at all schools.

Stop the Bleed teaches people three actions they can take to help save a life: applying pressure with their hands, applying a dressing to the wound and pressing down, and applying a tourniquet.

“We teach people about each of these techniques and how to apply a tourniquet,” Carter said. “We don’t have the medical training that a paramedic or a trauma surgeon has, so we can show people that all you need is common knowledge to save someone’s life.”

A total of 48 Stop the Bleed kits were purchased by PCS. Collins said each school has 12 kits. The goal is to purchase more each school year.

Collins said UAB helped PCS purchase the kits at lower cost.

“We were able to purchase more through UAB than we would have if we’d gone through a vendor,” Collins said. “We purchased the supplies and UAB assembled the kits on our behalf.”

Collins said the training PCS teachers and staff received is not only an added school safety component, but it has the potential to have a far-reaching impact.

“These skills can be applied outside of the school in everyday life,” Collins said. “I commend UAB and the police department for working with our schools. We’re very appreciative for the services they provide and we’re so grateful to have them.”

Carter said the PPD also offers the training to civic groups and members of the community. Residents may contact the PPD through Facebook or at 620-6550 to request training.