First Aid for Severe Trauma moves towards nationwide implementation
More than 250 high school teachers across the nation participated in certification training to become provisional instructors in the First Aid for Severe Trauma (FAST)TM program funded by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). The training was led by Dr. Craig Goolsby, FAST program Principal Investigator. The FAST program consists of training for high school students on how to stop bleeding and treat injuries before first responders arrive at the scene.
These online trainings are part of a three-year effort by the Uniformed Services University’s (USU) National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health (NCDMPH) and the American Red Cross, in partnership with teachers and medical experts, to develop FAST curriculum for high school students. Although these trainings were initially intended to be in-person sessions, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the move away from traditional classrooms to remote, digital learning platforms.