Henry County teachers, administrators learn to 'stop the bleed'

HENRY COUNTY, Va. – With the start of school a week away in Henry County, teachers are unfortunately forced to prepare for worst case scenarios.

"If you look at this area in a whole, where's a mass shooting going to happen?" Ridgeway Rescue Squad Capt. Travis Pruitt asked a room full of Bassett High School teachers and administrators at the school Monday morning.

Mass shootings are an unfortunate reality teachers now have to be prepared to deal with.

"Probably one of the schools, the Speedway, Walmart, or the Sports Complex. That's your biggest gathering of people," Pruitt said, explaining where mass shootings are most likely to happen in the county.

Pruitt and Virginia State Police are teaching Bassett and Magna Vista High School teachers and administrators how to stuff a wound with gauze and apply pressure to the wound and how to apply a tourniquet.

"Someone can bleed out very quickly, so if we have people that are certified, that can truly apply that tourniquet or do the compression or compress the bleeding, we can save a life right there quickly before the responders even get here," Pruitt said.

Bassett High School teacher C.J. Bowman is glad he received the training.

"I think it is more relevant now, (given) what happened over the weekend. I think it's a very appropriate thing to need to know in a classroom," Bowman said.

Over the weekend, dozens of people were killed in mass shootings in Ohio and Texas.

"I thought (the training) was very informative. I thought it was very interesting," Bowman said.

The training is being offered at the request of Bassett's principal, Tiffiny Gravely.

"I just feel, with the prevalence of school violence and school shootings in general, that this training is necessary for our teachers," Gravely said. "Our teachers were very open to it. They're excited."

Gravely said the training gives her peace of mind.

The Ridgeway Rescue Squad hopes to eventually expand the training to all schools in the county.

If you are interested in the Stop The Bleed training, contact the rescue squad at 276-956-2811.