MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The level-one trauma center at Regional One Health helped save the lives of several victims from the mass shooting at the Kroger in Collierville.
As of Saturday morning, four of the six victims being cared for at Regional One Health are in non-critical condition. Two are in critical condition.
Regional One has one of the few level-one trauma centers in Tennessee. Trauma patients can get immediate access for operating rooms, x-rays, and surgeons who are on staff around the clock.
ROH's Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Martin Croce, said the trauma staff had been training in case a mass shooting emergency took place.
"It’s really all a part of a statewide trauma system that’s designed to funnel the most severely injured patients to the institution that is the best equipped, if you will, to try and take care of those patients," Croce said.
Following Thursday's mass shooting in Collierville, ROH closed Jefferson Avenue in front of the trauma center and had medical staff outside ready to start helping those who were shot.
"At the time, we knew there were multiple casualties and we knew that multiple helicopters were on the scene," Croce said. "We have room on the heliport for one helicopter so if multiple helicopters are going to be coming in with victims of a mass shooting then we have to have an area for them to land."
Another challenge hospitals are facing is the record number of patients due to the highly contagious delta variant of COVID-19.
Croce said Memphis-area hospitals have had a plan in place since the start of the pandemic to offload COVID-19 patients to other hospitals so the trauma center does not feel a strain.
"The other hospitals realized that even though each hospital does a lot of things very well, Regional One Health and Elvis Presley Trauma Center is really where all the trauma patients need to come," Croce said.