How should you handle emergency with mass casualties? Columbus State will host chance to learn

Billed as “life-saving skills in the event of the unthinkable,” Columbus State University’s Continuing & Professional Education department will host a seminar next month to teach area residents how to help during an emergency involving mass casualties.

The seminar will be Jan. 20, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., in CSU’s Elizabeth Bradley Turner Center, at the corner of East Lindsay Drive and College Drive. The $59 fee includes lunch. Register online at ContinuingEd.ColumbusState.edu or by calling 706-507-8070.

Public safety experts will share their knowledge about preparing for and handling an active shooter or similar emergency, according to CSU’s news release.

“It’s not something we like to think about, but the reality is that a mass casualty event or other disaster can happen in any community at any time,” Samantha Gurski, program coordinator for the department, said in the news release. “A lot of times, community members are left wondering what they can do to prepare – or how to help once a disaster happens. This event will help us all be a little more proactive just in case the unthinkable occurs.”

Representatives from the Columbus Police Department, Homeland Security, Georgia Trauma Commission, Columbus Fire and Rescue and American Heart Association are scheduled to make presentations. The skills session will include training in First Aid and how to tie a tourniquet, the news release says.

“We are excited to be able to bring so many extremely qualified speakers to this event and to have them share their experiences and skills,” Gurski said. “We believe that a prepared community is a safer community.”

This story was originally published December 27, 2017 at 7:40 PM with the headline "How should you handle emergency with mass casualties? Columbus State will host chance to learn."