OLDHAM COUNTY, Ky. — UofL Health is helping prepare Oldham County students for any type of emergency they may encounter with their “Stop the Bleed” class.

What You Need To Know

  • UofL Hospital’s trauma outreach and education coordinator hosted a Stop the Bleed class on Thursday

  • More than 180 Oldham County students attended the course

  • Students learned techniques to safely stop bleeding in an emergency

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Stop the Bleed classes were put on pause but now that they’re back, Mary Clarah Pazienza was able to take her first course. 

“I think it's really fun and I think I could help make a difference in the world,” Pazienza said. “My mom is in the medical field and I want to take care of her."

Pazienza is a junior at South Oldham High School and already on the right path.

“I began Arvin as a freshman and I took the HBS class. And then nursing was an option for my junior year and I knew immediately wanted to take this,” Pazienza said.

She and other Oldham County students practiced techniques like compressing a bleeding wound and tourniquet placement with items you may find around your house.

“Usually when something happens immediately you freeze and you stop, so I think just knowing this by muscle memory or just knowing what to do in these kinds of situations is helpful,” Pazienza said.

Arvin Center students learning about different techniques to stop bleeding in UofL Health's Stop the Bleed course. (Spectrum News 1/Erin Wilson)

The class wasn’t just for students hoping to go into the medical field. Arvin Center students involved in nursing, culinary, automotive and sports medicine were all involved in the course.

“One of my students was in a real case scenario at the restaurant he was working at and somebody had a bad accident with one of their digits, having had this program, he ran, got the first aid kit, took care of the problem until EMS could get there,” Reid Coulston, culinary instructor at the Aavin Education Center said.

For Pazienza, the skills she learned will stick with her as she chases her dream and follows in her mother’s footsteps.

“This is much more hands-on and helpful than if I were to just be learning this on a screen,” Pazienza said. “She's helping me to get the feel of how aggressive I will actually have to pull it in a real life situation.”

Over 180 Oldham County students from South, North and Oldham County High School attended the Stop the Bleed class hosted by UofL Health at the Arvin Center.