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Shullsburg teachers ready for any situation
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Teachers at Shullsburg practiced with different types of tourniquets like the ones in the kits and the ones officers Jerry and Burgess carry.

You never want to think it could happen in our schools; where a student or teacher could get seriously injured and need medical attention right away before EMTs arrive. But something could happen and Shullsburg is now prepared for that situation.
Sheriff Deputy Theresa Burgess and Shullsburg Police Chief Josh Jerry taught teachers at the Shullsburg School District how to stop or control bleeding and take care of an injury during a teacher in-service on Friday, Jan. 20.
Recently, the Shullsburg School District was awarded a $1000 grant from the Dubuque Racing Association that allowed them to purchase 40 Casualty Care Kits for almost every classroom in the school. These kits contain, gloves, ACE pressure dressing, multi-purpose gauze, and a SWAT tourniquet. These kits help teachers provide a basic first aid when needed.
“It provides another level of care for our kids,” Agriculture teacher, Jennifer Russell said. Russell and FFA students worked on a safety project last year and wrote for the grant.
The kits are put together by Mercy hospital in Janesville. Mercy has been promoting these kits and when Burgess and other officers were at the hospital completing some training, she became more interested of them. The training with the kits is a part of Mercy’s Casualty Care Program, hoping to empower and bring a peace of mind to staff. Studies show that hemorrhaging represents the largest percentage of preventable deaths in penetrating trauma, such as school shootings. Research also shows that a feeling of helplessness is one of the leading causes of post-traumatic stress disorder. Teachers were taught how to put direct pressure on a bleeding wound,pack gauze into the wound, wrap it and apply a tourniquet.
“We are making little steps to improve safety. We have the tools available and it’s important to have them out there, teaching and giving teachers a peace of mind if something happens,” Burgess stated.
The kits are fairly inexpensive at about $16 per kit. Burgess would like to see all the schools in Lafayette County be equipped with these kits.
“Our job is to be as prepared as we can be with very little resources available. Today went good. I feel they got a good grasp on how to handle this situation and believe they can do it,” Burgess said.
These small kits can change everything in a matter of seconds and help teachers and staff be ready for when anything happens.