MILWAUKEE -- The mass shooting in Virginia Beach last week reminds local Trauma Centers to always be on the ready.
At Froedtert and The Medical College of Wisconsin they do yearly drills for mass casualty events.
"You never know when that next mass casualty is going to happen. Without preparedness, without training you don't know how the system is going to respond" says Trauma Surgeon Dr. Thomas Carver, M.D.
Dr. Carver says events like Virginia Beach, Las Vegas, and the Pulse Nightclub shootings, as well as local events like the Sikh Temple and Azana Salon shootings are all learning experiences.
"The lessons learned about from what occurred at other places can be extrapolated out what happens here too" says Carver.
"The increase in frequency and mass casualty events and shootings that we have... brings this to everybody's mind. That preparedness and drills do save lives and they are super important" he says.
Froedtert Trauma Manager Kelly Jung says everyday can be practice for a major event.
"We even use our real time events, or when we have multiple victims coming in as practice events" she says.
The practice drills allow them to make sure systems and procedures work, to get the best response in the time of a major emergency.
"We will flex up our resources as quickly as possible. We have notification systems where we can send out just like a mass page saying this is what we need for people to come in" says Jung.
Froedtert and The Medical College of Wisconsin is the only Level 1 trauma center in the state outside of Madison. They explain how to avoid trauma injuries and how the system works,here.
