Middlesex Community College Nursing Department Helps Community 'Stop The Bleed'

Bedford MA

04 May, 2022

7:59 AM

Description

Press release from the Middlesex Community College: May 3, 2022 Middlesex Community College's Nursing department is helping the community to "Stop the Bleed" by holding trainings for the national certification. Between an event held on March 19 and another on May 6, almost 40 MCC students will be certified for the disaster preparedness drill. "The intent of the program is to educate the public on bleeding control until help arrives," said Susan Lavallee, MCC Professor of Nursing. "The program includes both a didactic and a hands-on practical session that covers all of the core bleeding control skills that include pressure, packing and tourniquet application, taught by trained instructors." Kerry Sorrentino, MCC Nursing Professor, brought the training to Middlesex as part of a clinical experience. The goal is to prepare community members and those in health care fields with the knowledge, confidence and skills needed to respond in an emergency situation. "Stop the Bleed is very important to ensure the safety of our community members both on campus and in the surrounding communities by providing training that can and has saved lives," Sorrentino said. "Nursing students can participate in this training not only so they can potentially save lives on day utilizing these techniques, but once they obtain licensure or enter into their profession they can also become instructors and pass along the knowledge to the community." Calling her experience at Middlesex "phenomenal," Nursing student Deanna Witkowski, of Bolton, is growing more confident in her knowledge and skills as she goes through the program. This includes the Stop the Bleed training. To start, Witkowski and her classmates watched a video before practicing applying tourniquets and stuffing wounds. "It's one thing watching videos, but actually doing hands-on practice is so much better and more valuable," Witkowski said. "The value is to be ready and feel prepared if something like this happens in real life. This would mean life or death for someone." The Stop the Bleed training is another learning experience outside of the classroom that professors have provided to MCC Nursing student Danielle LaFontaine, of Haverhill. For the training, she appreciated how they used little equipment and simple techniques. "Many students, like myself, learn best when given the opportunity to practice hands-on skill training," LaFontaine said. "I truly believe that this program has prepared me to be a confident entry-level nurse and I recommend this program to all interested in Nursing." For Sorrentino, the training is also an opportunity to partner with local organizations, such as the local medical reserve corp., schools and libraries. "I have been teaching this class for several years to other nurses, nursing students and community members, and it always has such a positive response," Sorrentino said. "Participants walk away feeling confident after learning these skills and having time for hands-on practice that if needed, they can step in and use this skill to help someone in need. This press release was produced by the Middlesex Community College. The views expressed here are the author's own.