Seconds matter in rural injury incidents or medical emergencies, and the time it takes first responders to travel to an injured person can be critical to survival, says Angie Johnson, North Dakota State University Extension farm and ranch safety coordinator.

To help reduce deaths caused by unintentional injury, NDSU Extension and the NDSU School of Nursing are partnering to offer free, Stop the Bleed training for residents of rural communities across North Dakota. Nursing faculty will travel to North Dakota counties and work with NDSU Extension agents to conduct the trainings.

Stop the Bleed is a nationally recognized, 90-minute certification program providing participants with hands-on opportunities to recognize life-threatening bleeding and intervene effectively by properly using a tourniquet in the event of blood loss caused by an injury.

“People living in Northern Plains states have the longest travel times to the nearest hospital,” says Johnson. “Stop the Bleed training is beneficial for all rural residents who could be miles away from the nearest medical facility. Farm and ranch families, farm employees and seasonal laborers, emergency response personnel, and youth ages 13 and older are especially encouraged to attend.”

“With the NDSU School of Nursing education sites in Bismarck and Fargo, many of our nurse practitioner graduates go on to serve people in rural communities,” says Dean Gross, director of the nurse practitioner program at NDSU. “Part of our mission is to develop dynamic nurse leaders with a strong rural focus, as part of the land grant mission. This partnership with NDSU Extension will help us strengthen our connection to the communities we serve.”

If you would like to learn more about Stop the Bleed and to be notified of possible trainings near you, please fill out the public interest form at bit.ly/STBinterestform. Training sessions are limited to 10 to 12 participants per location. Personal Stop the Bleed kits will be provided to participants on a first-come, first-served basis.

Emergency management personnel may qualify for National Continuing Competency Requirement (NCCR) and Local Continuing Competency Requirement (LCCR) units through this training, and also may be eligible to become a certified Stop the Bleed instructor in their community.

Stop the Bleed training is funded through a three-year grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture – National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

As a student-focused, land-grant, research institution, we serve our citizens.

NDSU Agriculture Communication – Oct. 16, 2023

Source: Angie Johnson, 701-231-1873, angela.b.johnson@ndsu.edu

Source: Dean Gross, 701-231-8355, dean.gross@ndsu.edu

Editor: Carol Renner, 701-231-7649, carol.renner@ndsu.edu

Editor: Kelli Anderson, 701-231-7881, kelli.c.anderson@ndsu.edu