Class to teach lifesaving techniques

A member of the Boulder City Rifle and Pistol Club is bringing a new class to the facility that is geared to helping people learn how to save lives.

Stop the Bleed is a national program, and Kenny O’Rourke recently brought it to the club. It teaches people how to recognize life-threatening bleeding as well as different techniques to control it until help arrives.

“Bleeding is the number one cause of death in adults and children with traumatic injury,” said O’Rourke.

O’Rourke has been in the emergency medical field for more than 30 years but said the driving force for him getting involved with Stop the Bleed was the 1 October shooting in Las Vegas.

“I was an ER and trauma nurse then and saw more than 236 people that night,” he said. “Some of them (the victims) probably could have been saved (if their bleeding had been stopped). … So I thought instead of whining about it, I’d do something.”

About a year ago, he brought these classes to the Boulder City Rifle and Pistol Club and so far has trained more than 60 people. Due to the pandemic, he said the classes were limited and he wasn’t able to train as many people as he hoped.

The next classes at the club are May 15, 21, 22 and 28. Usually they cost $10 for nonmembers of the club and are free for members.

In May, they are free for everyone because it is National Stop the Bleed month.

“We’re stepping up our game,” he said.

At the local classes, participants will go through the curriculum provided for the national program as well as special hands-on training with bleeding simulators.

“The participants seem to like it,” he said.

The classes are open to children and adults, but O’Rourke said if someone doesn’t handle seeing blood well, caution should be exercised.

“If you’re squeamish about blood, this probably isn’t the class for you,” he said.

All the Stop the Bleed classes start at 8:30 a.m. and end between 11:30 a.m. and noon. To sign up, go to https://brpclub.org/courses/stop-the-bleed/.

Contact reporter Celia Shortt Goodyear at cgoodyear@bouldercityreview.com or at 702-586-9401. Follow her on Twitter @csgoodyear.