University of Kentucky Hospital prepares for mass shootings after Las Vegas tragedy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WTVQ) – After the tragedy in Las Vegas, people in Lexington are thinking about what they would do if something of that magnitude happened close to home. This includes UK Hospital.

Dr. Cynthia Talley is a trauma surgeon at the hospital and says they do have a plan in place.

She says the hospital conducts simulations of mass casualty and injury situations once every three months. She explains in the simulations, about 20 volunteers act as though they are victims, allowing those in the trauma center to practice evaluating and treating patients quickly.

She says the simulations show the hospital what they do well at and what they need to work on in case of extreme situations.

Talley says the hospital is prepared to open more rooms, outside of the trauma center, so that more people can be treated at once. She says they also have a tent that they will set up outside, if a situation arises, where they will pre-evaluate patients, treating the most injured first.

As far as what you can do to help others in tragic situations, Talley says once you are safe, you can take classes to learn bleeding control techniques used to minimize blood loss on scene.

Talley emphasizes that your safety comes first, saying the first thing you need to do is get out of the line of danger. Then, she says, you can try to help those around you.