Willow Community Emergency Response Team hosting Stop the Bleed classes

The Willow Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) will be offering a series of Stop the Bleed classes in May at the Willow Community Center and Library.

The series of six classes will be held in recognition of Stop the Bleed month and to replace a class in January that was canceled due to weather. Participants will learn how to save themselves and others from life-threatening injuries.

“It’s so important because it doesn't matter where you are. It's not just because we're so far from help. A person bleeds to death in three to five minutes with an arterial cut. Nobody's going to have help in three to five minutes. It could be making Christmas dinner. It could be when you're just out in your shop,” Stop the Bleed Instructor and Willow CERT member Brenda McCain said. “Most bleeding can be stopped with direct pressure, but it's just important to be able to recognize serious bleeding and do something about it right then because even if you're in the middle of Wasilla, you're not going to get the help you need in time to stop an arterial bleed.”

Students will engage in a presentation hosted by Willow CERT instructors on how to identify various wounds and administer first aid. Students will learn how to apply direct pressure and pack deep wounds with gauze on silicone wound management leg trainers. Instructors will teach proper tourniquet usage and students will practice using them on each other and themselves. Students who complete the two-hour class will receive a certificate.

Preregistration is required for classes due to limited space. Everyone 14 years of age and older are encouraged to attend the free class. Classes will be held at the Willow Community Center Main Hall May 12 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and May 14 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Classes will continue in the Willow Library Meeting Room May 16 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., May 17 from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and May 18 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. For questions about the course or to enroll, contact Brenda McCain at: brendalmccain@gmail.com

With summer wood cutting quickly approaching, fishing season and hunting this fall, or even preparing for a summer bbq, now is a better time than ever to brush up on first aid skills and be better prepared for an emergency, no matter where it might occur.

“Here we do more activities that have the potential for serious bleeding,” McCain said. “Between the hunting, and the fishing, and the chopping wood and the snow machining, it's important to have the skills to save your life, or a friend's, or a neighbor's life.”