NBC4: Preparing Ohio’s Trauma Centers for Mass Shootings

Following the recent mass shooting in Maine, the need for trauma centers across the country to prepare themselves for the possibility of similar incidents has become an unfortunate reality.

“Mass shootings are a huge issue increasing in numbers over the past many years here in the United States,” said Urmil Pandya, MD, the trauma medical director at OhioHealth Grant Medical Center, "It’s happening everywhere, it’s happening in big cities, it’s happening in small towns as evidenced from what seemed to happen yesterday and it’s just a matter of time.” 

Dr. Pandya spoke with NBC4 reporter Eric Halperin at OhioHealth’s annual trauma conference. “We discussed it in this conference yesterday, it’s not really an ‘if’ question, but it’s generally a ‘when’ question,” he said.

The conference, which included nearly 400 physicians, nurses and EMS personnel from across the region, began on Wednesday, Oct. 25, just hours before the shooting in Maine. With the growing concern of mass shootings, the topic was already on the agenda prior to the tragic events that evening. 

On day two of the conference, discussions turned to the specific challenges faced by rural areas in preparing for these incidents. “We have a lot of Ohio which is rural, you have to be prepared,” said Dr. Pandya, “And it really brings up those questions of how are we going to support an area like a Maine where it’s a smaller area if it were to happen there.”

OhioHealth trauma centers have been actively engaged in preparing for mass shooting events. This preparation involves a variety of scenarios. Some are held at the individual hospital level, while others call for collaboration of all hospital systems within the city of Columbus. 

To learn more about OhioHealth’s emergency and trauma care, click here.