RESCUE WORKERS LEARN LATEST, GREATEST TECHNIQUES TO STOP PATIENT BLEEDING

West Alabama rescue workers and more were on-hand at the Bryant Conference Center this morning, learning how to save lives more effectively.

It was all part of the Hemorrhagic Control forum, which teaches rescuers how to save lives by controlling bleeding. But it’s not a topic just for rescue workers — anyone can save lives by learning the techniques.

The keynote speaker, Dr. Alexander Eastman, is chief of trauma at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas, Texas. Eastman said Alabama’s rescue workers are always eager to learn.

“Tuscaloosa and the state of Alabama are really getting in at the forefront of providing hemorrhage control techniques to the people that need to learn it,” he said.

But saving lives isn’t just a job for rescuers. Any random passerby or traumatic event survivor could save lives by knowing what to do in a mass casualty event.

Program Specialist for College Community Health Sciences and the Institute for Rural Health Research Travis Parker said there are always classes on how to avoid being a mass shooting victim, but there are very few classes about what happens after the shooting.

“We want people to be prepared,” he said. “As important as CPR is, this is just as important. Because if a person is bleeding and that bleeding is not controlled, they’re going to die.”