Staffers at Cook Children’s Medical Center conducted a drill Thursday that simulated a mass shooting at a middle school, and 32 teenage volunteers played the victims.
“I will be in a stretcher and I will be laying down pretty unconscious,” said Taylor Zatarain, 17, of Aledo.
The students were made up so their “gunshot wounds” looked realistic.
The drill was designed to test how the emergency department would handle such a mass casualty incident.
Staffers did not know about the exercise until it happened.
Doctors, nurses and medics had to prioritize -- who needs help the most.
With her head wound, Zatarain was the first to be wheeled in from a large ambulance known as an ambus.
"Going well,” said hospital safety officer Kasey Pollan.
For everyone, such a scenario ripped from recent headlines is sadly realistic.
"It is sad,” said Zatarain, who hopes to one day be a nurse. “It makes me think about people bringing kids into this world and they have to go through all this and experience it. It's not something you can get away from."
Tiffany Bui, 16, said her generation is accustomed to hearing about mass shootings.
"I grew up in a time when 9-11 already happened,” she said. “I was one (year old) then. So now, it's really sad, but it's something I've learned to live with."
In the emergency room, doctors decided Zatarain didn't survive her injuries and focused their attention on the other victims.
"For us, we can't stop what happens in the real world or society,” said Denise Doherty, Cook’s Director of Emergency Services. “But we can be prepared for it. And that's our goal. Because we know that every patient's life is sacred. And that's our mission."
