VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – Sentara says three victims remain in their care following Friday’s mass shooting at the Municipal Center Complex in Virginia Beach.
The Director of Trauma for Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, Dr. Martin O’Grady, said five people showed up at their hospital on Friday.
Two of those patients died and three are still in their care.
“They’re all stable at the present time. One is just coming out of the O.R. Another victim was taken into the O.R. last night and is probably going back in the O.R. again today and may have to go back to the or early next week,” O’Grady said.
As for the third victim, O’Grady says they were more fortunate. “They’ll have a full recovery that’s not clear of this very second, but did not require urgent operations to repair injuries,” he said.
Dr. Janelle Thomas was the attending physician yesterday as the victims were coming in.
“I was on duty in the emergency department last night along with another attending physician. My role was to prepare for the emergency response and receive the patients as they arrived.” said Thomas.
She says it was controlled chaos.”It was a divide and conquer scenario. We had physicians in each trauma room staff in each trauma room and we focused on our patient and making sure they had the resources they needed,” Thomas said.
Thomas says EMS worked well with the emergency department. She says EMS was able to divert non-trauma ambulances from their hospital to other non-trauma facilities while they received the trauma victims.
Thomas also said police put the trauma department on lock down while they were attending to patients — only those with appropriate identification could go in or come out.
O’Grady says they’ll meet next week and go over what they did and what they can learn from this tragedy.
Sentara President & CEO Howard P. Kern issued this statement Saturday about the tragedy that claimed 12 lives, and included an update on the four patients:
We are all shocked and saddened by the tragic events that occurred Friday at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center. We hear about shootings like this on the news, but for something like this to happen so close to home, where many of us live and work, it’s truly horrific and heartbreaking. It’s the day we prepared for but never wanted to see.
Howard P. Kern, Sentara President & CEO
Just like the incredible men and women who responded to the shooting and helped to save countless lives by getting control of the situation, we practice emergency drills to help us stay ready to care for the injured in times like this. Our hearts go out to everyone impacted, and in the same breath, we would like to extend a special thank you to our team members who were ready to respond and care for victims and their loved ones.
We currently have four patients from the shooting. At Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, one is in fair condition and two are in critical condition. At Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, one patient is in critical condition. We will continue to update the public about their conditions as appropriate.
Many now will begin to fully feel a profound sense of loss, and even the lasting effects of fear. We are of course there for the medical needs of the community, but we are also here for the emotional and mental health of the community and will be prepared to support however the City needs us to.
Our deepest sympathies go out to all that have experienced loss from this tragic and senseless act of violence. We learned last night that two Sentara team members lost loved ones. Please keep these families and all of Hampton Roads in your thoughts. We are all part of something bigger, and we are all in this together.
What we do in healthcare is so much more than just doing a job. It takes a special type of person and we are thankful for our team members’ commitment and strength. We stand with the City of Virginia Beach.