NEWARK, NJ — A student in the Newark Public School District gets injured. They're bleeding heavily. Time is of the essence.

What should school staff do to save their life? This scenario is just one example of why a new, long-term partnership between Newark schools and University Hospital is so important, according to officials.

On Wednesday, school and hospital administrators announced plans to eventually train about 5,000 public school employees in "emergency bleeding control skills." The workers, which will include school nurses and security personnel, will gain the knowledge necessary to assist wounded individuals in the critical period before medical help arrives. To support the effort, the Foundation for University Hospital will donate more than $30,000 to cover the cost of the training and purchase nearly 550 bleeding control kits that will be distributed to all of Newark's 66 public schools. The bleeding control kits that the Foundation is donating each contain tourniquets, pressure dressing, hemostatic agents, chest shields, gloves, and scissors, and can treat 3 to 4 patients each, depending on the severity of the wound.

The nation-wide training campaign – dubbed "Stop the Bleed" – kicked off in Newark on Wednesday at Rafael Hernandez School. About 150 Newark school workers participated in the Aug. 29 training, which was led by Adam Fox, a surgeon in the trauma division at University Hospital.

The training initiative is part of a nationwide Stop the Bleed campaign and is funded by grants by the Department of Homeland Security and the New Jersey Department of Health.

The Aug. 29 event also marked the beginning of a formal relationship between the hospital and NPS to address the health of students and their families. Over time, programming will also include medical screenings, health education, workshops, smoking cessation classes and insurance enrollment for Newark families, administrators said.