Thirty-five classrooms in Edinburg Community Unit School District 4 will be equipped with emergency medical supplies to care specifically for someone who is severely bleeding thanks to a grant from the Taylorville Memorial Foundation.

Each classroom will receive a bleeding-control kit, which contains medical supplies, including tourniquets, dressings and compression bandages, to deliver on-the-spot care to someone who is bleeding.

In addition to the Foundation’s $2,530 grant to cover cost of the kits, Taylorville Memorial Hospital will provide training to teachers and school administrators on how to use the kits. The “Stop the Bleed” training will be led by Darin Buttz, director of community health at the nonprofit hospital.

“This grant award will provide security to Edinburg school staff, knowing that they now have the tools to handle an emergency where seconds matter,” said Raedena Ryan, executive director of the Taylorville Memorial Foundation. She added, “It’s only through the generosity of our donors that we can provide these kits and the training to use the equipment to save lives.”

“We’ve worked with our local police department regarding what actions to take in various situations, and they discussed the ‘Stop the Bleed’ kits and stressed how important it is for a school to have something like that available,” said Ashley Francis, Edinburg Community Unit School District 4 K-12 principal. “We want to be as prepared as possible for any situation that may occur at our school.”

“Stop the Bleed” is a national campaign led by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma to teach the public how to save a life if a person nearby is severely bleeding. Participants learn how to recognize life-threatening bleeding and intervene effectively, according to the group’s website.

The Taylorville Memorial Foundation launched its Community Health Grant Program earlier this year to assist with funding health-related projects in Christian County.

Through the program, the foundation awards grants to local 501(c)(3) nonprofits, education or government organizations to support community health activities.

A completed application and a detailed budget must be submitted for review and recommended to the foundation’s grants committee for funding approval.

For more information, contact Ryan at 217-707-5271 or email her at ryan.raedena@mhsil.com. Detailed guidelines and application forms are available online at memorial.health/tmf under the Grant Opportunities tab.

To learn more about the “Stop the Bleed” campaign, visit StopTheBleed.org.