From constructing and running the East Aldine Town Center to removing graffiti from commercial buildings to bolstering law enforcement patrols and hosting holiday celebrations, the East Aldine Management District works to improve the everyday quality of life in the area.

But the District also works with community partners to prepare the community for potential emergencies that create the kind of tragic days we hope will never come.

So, the District’s board of directors recently approved funding for an event where 72 nurses at Aldine Independent School District schools received hands-on instruction through the Stop The Bleed program on how to treat severe bleeding among people, whether in a mass casualty scenario such a school shooting or other types of incidents.

Clinical education instructors from Harris County Emergency Corps (HCEC) provided the life-saving training to the nurses gathered at the M.O. Campbell Event Center. HCEC, based in East Aldine, oversees emergency medical services, training and other emergency communications for a north Harris County areas in which about 400,000 people live.

Training supplies were provided by the South Texas Regional Advisory Council, a state program that coordinates trauma and emergency healthcare systems. Texas law requires public schools to Stop The Bleed equipment on hand and to receive training about the treatment techniques, said Monty Northern, HCEC director of community relations. 

The Stop The Bleed program is managed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, he said.

With 100 tourniquets on hand, the Aldine school nurses trained in a buddy system on how to apply the compression bandages that stop bleeding.

The nurses who treat students every school day were good students themselves.

“We also had work stations set up for ‘wound packing’ and ‘bleed control,’ “ Northern said. “It was an overall positive interaction, with lots of questions for our clinical staff.”

East Aldine Management District Chair Joyce Wiley said the board’s funding of the training session dovetails with the District’s long-range mission to help the area become even more resilient.

“The people and businesses of East Aldine have shown they are strong and adaptable, and the board will continue to look for ways to partner with agencies and organizations to ensure our community is ready for any and all challenges,” she said.