Most people in the Charleston area have some kind of basic first aid in their background — CPR from years ago, maybe a Red Cross course. Trauma training is different. It's built for the emergencies that actually kill people fast: uncontrolled bleeding, airway problems, chest wounds.
We run hands-on trauma training out of Moncks Corner and cover the greater Charleston SC area — Berkeley, Dorchester, and beyond. Here's what our training looks like and who it's built for.
Why This Matters in the Lowcountry
The number one cause of preventable death after traumatic injury is uncontrolled bleeding. Not cardiac arrest — bleeding. And in a lot of the areas we serve, EMS response times can run 10, 15, even 20 minutes in rural parts of Berkeley and Dorchester County.
A trained bystander at the scene of a bad car accident, a shooting, or a workplace injury can make the difference. An untrained one watches. That's the whole reason this training exists.
The Responder Pathway — Crawl, Walk, Run
We built our curriculum around a three-level progression. You don't have to start at the beginning if you've already got the foundation — but most people do, and it's worth it.
This is where everyone starts. Tourniquet application, wound packing, and chest seals — done over and over until it sticks. Then we drop you into scenarios to see if it actually holds under a little pressure. No prerequisites, no medical background needed.
A full day of training with R1 built in. You go deeper — more complex scenarios, longer situations, more decision-making on the fly. By the end of R2 you're not just applying skills, you're reading a scene and making calls.
Two full days for people who want to operate at a higher level. Extended scenarios, team coordination, mass casualty events. R1 and R2 are prerequisites. This is the full run phase.
What Actually Happens in Class
You're not watching PowerPoints. Class time is spent doing — tourniquet application, wound packing, chest seal placement, over and over on training aids until the movements start to feel natural.
Then we drop you into scenarios. Some run 2 minutes. Some run 50. Motor vehicle accidents, mass casualty events, workplace trauma — situations that actually happen. The goal isn't to stress you out. The goal is to build enough familiarity that you can still think when something real is going on around you.
Most people who go through R2 tell us the scenarios were the part that changed something. Easy to apply a tourniquet in a quiet room. Different when someone's yelling and there's a lot going on.
Who Shows Up
Eight years old to eighty — we mean that literally. Most of the people who find us are preparedness-minded. They've thought about what they'd actually do in an emergency and decided they want a real answer. Church groups, families, gun owners, community team members, people who work in remote or high-risk environments.
No medical background required. The curriculum is designed for civilians. If you can follow directions and show up willing to put in reps, you'll leave with skills you can actually use.
Based in the Lowcountry
We're headquartered in Moncks Corner and run classes across Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester Counties. We also bring training directly to groups — if you have a church, business, or organization with 10 or more people, we can come to you.
If you're in greater Charleston and looking for real trauma training — not a one-hour awareness course — this is it.
What You Take Home
Every student leaves with a full trauma kit they keep:
The kit is yours. Keep doing reps at home. Teach your family. Keep it in your vehicle. One trained person can bring those skills back to everyone around them — that's the whole idea.
Students also receive an official Stop the Bleed certificate through our Refuge Medical training partnership.
Reserve Your Seat
Classes are small by design — everyone gets real reps, not just a front-row view. Check the upcoming schedule and lock in your spot before it fills.