By Gena Latrell
glatrell@americanpress.com

{{tncms-inline content=”<p class="p1"><strong>‘… the choice of a mass shooting drill had a lot to do with the current situation in the world, with all of the mass shootings that have been happening recently.’</strong> </p> <p class="p3"><strong>Roman Jenks</strong></p> <p class="p4">Lake Charles Memorial Hospital’s ER director</p>” id=”18adca43-5c47-4187-8568-f19f49556c56″ style-type=”quote” title=”Pull Quote” type=”relcontent”}}

Lake Charles Memorial Hospital held a mass shooting drill Wednesday that involved medical personnel from throughout the region.  

The storyline for the drill had active shooters at all government buildings in area parishes.

“We do drills multiple times a year. We must have drills; they’re required,” said Roman Jenks, Memorial’s emergency department director.

“But the choice of a mass shooting drill had a lot to do with the current situation in the world, with all of the mass shootings that have been happening recently.”

Medical workers from hospitals in Allen, Beauregard, Calcasieu and Cameron parishes took part in the drill, along with nursing homes, the Health Department, clinics and some home health agencies, Jenks said.

“Other facilities did this drill, but they did it as a simulation, simulating patients on paper: What would you do with them? Where would you send them?” he said.

“Memorial decided we were going to have live, made-up patients to better serve the nurses — for them to learn to triage patients that are coming in from that type of situation.”

If a mass shooting were to really happen, Jenks said, Memorial would marshal as many doctors as necessary to handle victims.

“If it’s going to take more than just the ER physicians, we actually do have an understanding with physicians employed at Memorial Hospital that we would call them,” he said.

“They would cancel clinics or cancel elective surgeries so that those individuals could come to the ER to assist.”

Jenks said the public could also aid in caring for victims. He said the website www.dhs.gov/stopthebleed provides information on how to use tourniquets to stanch bleeding.

Several victims in the Sandy Hook shooting died from blood loss “because people didn’t know how to apply tourniquets.”

‘… the choice of a mass shooting drill had a lot to do with the current situation in the world, with all of the mass shootings that have been happening recently.’ 

Roman Jenks

Lake Charles Memorial Hospital’s ER director