(NewsDakota.com/NDSU) – The number one cause of preventable death after an injury is bleeding. That’s why bleeding control – keeping the blood inside the body – is the purpose of Stop the Bleed training. The person next to a bleeding victim may very well be the one who’s most likely to save him or her from bleeding to death. Instead of being a witness, become an immediate responder. Participants will gain the ability to recognize life-threatening bleeding and act quickly and effectively to control bleeding.

Stop the Bleed training will be offered at the NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center on Tuesday, Feb. 21. This hands-on class begins at 7 p.m. The one-hour course is open to anyone interested in learning this lifesaving skill.

Registration is required. There is no charge for this class; the first 30 people to register and attend will receive a tourniquet kit.

Certified Stop the Bleed trainers from Carrington will teach the class, including certified physician’s assistant Mary Hoff, registered nurse Shelley Kollman and registered nurse Kristy Konschak.

Instructors will teach live, in-person, using training materials specially developed to teach bleeding control techniques. Following classroom training the instructors will teach responders to practice bleeding control actions including the application of direct pressure, packing a wound and using a tourniquet, and they will continue to guide until correct skills are demonstrated.

There is no charge for this Stop the Bleed course. Funding for the tourniquet kits comes from AgCountry Farm Credit Services, Foster County Farm Bureau, Foster County Farmers Union, High Plains Equipment, Kracht Implement, Leading Edge Equipment and Runnings.

This Carrington session is pre-approved for 0.5 National CEUs for EMTs and may be supplemented by another 0.5 credit at the state level.

The CREC is three and a half miles north of Carrington on U.S. Highway 281.