Hundreds Dead and Wounded: Best Practices for Mass Shootings

Saturday, December 2, 2023

9:20 AM – 9:45 AM PST

Location: Town and Country Ballroom A

Primary Presenter(s)

Craig Goolsby, MD, MEd, MHCDS, FACEP

Professor and Chair
Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Torrance, CA, United States

Disclosure(s): Critical Innovations: Honoraria (Terminated, July 21, 2022); Zoll: Consultant/Advisory Board (Ongoing)

Disclosure(s):

Craig Goolsby, MD, MEd, MHCDS, FACEP: Critical Innovations: Honoraria (Terminated, July 21, 2022); Zoll: Consultant/Advisory Board (Ongoing)

Summary: While mass shootings have become common, the healthcare community has done little to ready itself. This presentation will provide best evidence for treatment and preparation that healthcare professionals and communities can use to optimize response.

Synopsis of Presentation: The US averages more than one mass shooting every day – injuring, killing, and traumatizing thousands of people each year. A recent study landmark assembled emergency physicians, prehospital providers, and surgeons who participated in the medical response to six of America’s largest mass shootings at a consensus conference. Clinicians from shootings in Las Vegas, Orlando, El Paso, Parkland, Sutherland Springs, and Dayton created an essential list of lessons learned and best practices that can help hospitals and communities prepare for the nightmare scenario of a mass shooting. This session features the lead author of the study sharing essential lessons learned that can help audience members prepare themselves and their institutions to save more lives when faced with the horrors of a mass shooting.

Learning Objectives:

List key healthcare response lesson learned from recent mass shootings.
Describe the best practices in the prehospital and emergency department responses to mass shootings.
Compare and contrast specific medical and logistical challenges in recent mass shootings.