SCRANTON -- Learning to stop a potentially deadly situation was the focus at a hospital in Scranton on Saturday.
The Stop the Bleed class at Geisinger Community Medical Center taught people how to manage life-threatening emergencies until first responders arrive.
The two-hour, hands-on program taught the basics of controlling bleeding and applying a tourniquet.
Organizers say knowing what to do can mean the difference between life and death.
"You look at any of those incidents that have happened over the last five years. It was the person standing next to the person who got injured who sometimes made the difference between that person living or dying by what they did or didn't do," said Kathryn Bommer, trauma education outreach coordinator at Geisinger.
The class was designed for teachers, daycare workers, firefighters, law enforcement, students, and the general public.