Through a partnership with county emergency medical services, Putnam County Schools has purchased nearly 700 emergency trauma kits for each classroom. The kits are similar to those carried by paramedics and were designed specifically to treat gunshot wounds. While officials say a school shooting is unlikely to happen, they want to take every available precaution.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Shootings at high schools in Kentucky and North Carolina Tuesday prompted Putnam County officials to take stock of the school system’s emergency response procedures and the resources used to keep students safe during an emergency.
Over the past year, Putnam County school nurses have received extra training, trauma kits have been purchased for every classroom and later this month, teachers will be trained to administer CPR. Students also will learn what they can do during an emergency.
While the trauma kits were specifically designed to treat gunshot wounds, they will also contain material that can be used to mend mild to moderate wounds resulting from everyday accidents.
In total, the county has placed nearly 700 kits in its 22 schools at a cost of $75,000. Another $5,000 will be spent this month to outfit county fire trucks and police cruisers with their own kits. Placing the kits in each classroom was proposed by a CAMC Teays Valley Hospital official at a recent Putnam County school board meeting.
Going to such lengths may seem like overkill, but Putnam County EMS officials said Tuesday they’d rather be over-prepared than be forced to respond after a shooting, however unlikely one may be.
“We need to plan ahead and not be caught off guard,” said Stephanie Watson, Putnam County EMS education director…
