LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The night of 1 October is etched in the memory of our country.
What started as a fun event, turned into the site of the largest mass shooting on U.S. soil.
Frontline medical workers vividly recall everything that happened, and how it has continued to shape the medical community.
Dr. Deborah Kulhs takes a deep breath before sharing her experience on that fateful night: "The first radio contact we got was just that there was a shooting on the Strip, and we were going to be getting 5 to 10 people.
"Then in rapid succession, it seemed like every minute, we would get an update like 'oh no, it's going to be 10 to 20' or 'this may actually be terrorist activity.' At that point, when it was 10 to 20 or more we knew we had to activate the hospital's disaster plan."
We asked her if she had seen anything like this before. Her response: "No, never."
Dr. Kulhs adds, "But we train for it."
Dr. Kulhs says the events of 9/11 prompted her to prepare herself and UMC for disaster if it ever struck Southern Nevada.16 years later, the deadliest mass shooting in the United States happened on the Las Vegas Strip.
Dr. Syed Saquib had been working at UMC for about a year and was a junior member of the trauma center. The night of the shooting he worked side-by-side with Dr. Kuhls.
"There's a tragedy and that needs to be acknowledged but we always have to take a look at the response as well. That also needs to be acknowledged," Dr. Saquib said.
In the last 5 years, Dr. Kulhs, Dr. Saquib, and other doctors at UMC have made it their mission to do outreach with hospitals across the country to help prepare their first responders for the unthinkable.
Dr. Saquib told KTNV, "We have used this experience to learn from it and pass what we've learned to other trauma centers."
Dr. Kulhs adds: "We're continuing to work together. I would say increasing frequency in realistic drills and including specialties that might not have been included before. I've been involved in efforts to address some of the other populations and what can we do to be better prepared."
She believes it is important for all of us to be better prepared.
"We should all take positive action. Feel free to get trained. If you are in a situation like this, how would you stop the bleeding? We can all be part of being ready in case something happens. That's empowering. On 1 October there were many examples of bravery and selfless behavior. We really need to culture that in ourselves," says Dr. Kulhs.
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