7 6 S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O C T O B E R 2 0 1 7
What inspired you to focus on
responses to mass casualty events?
I took part in dealing with the aftermath of the Sandy
Hook Elementary School massacre. That was pro-
foundly distressing, and the experience changed me
forever. That's when I began working with the
American College of Surgeons to develop ways to
improve survival rates after mass shootings and other
trauma events involving major bleeding.
How have the stakes
been raised in recent years?
Active shooter events are happening more frequently,
and the automatic weaponry is more alarming. Medical
professionals have been putting themselves at risk for a
long time. The dangers are different now — bullets, not
just bacteria — but the philosophical issues are the same.
What is your responsibility to the patients in your
care? Should you protect them at the expense of your own
well-being? What if you have a young family at home? When
researching the impact of active shooter events and asking
healthcare professionals about the topic, it became clear to me
that they had not strongly considered the moral and ethi-
cal issues involved.
hat Would You Do
If Bullets Started to Fly?
W
Lenworth M. Jacobs, MD, MPH, FACS
Surgeon and proponent of preparing for active shooter events
