El Paso Emergency Community Honored for Shooting Response

Presidential_Award

Texas Medical Association President David C. Fleeger, MD, recognized the entire emergency medical community of El Paso on Wednesday for their response to a mass shooting that killed 22 people and injured 24 others last year.

“Just as the entire city of El Paso came together in solidarity and love for each other that day, so too did the El Paso medical community unite in caring and service for your injured neighbors, their families, and friends,” Dr. Fleeger said in a ceremony in which he presented the TMA President’s Award to the El Paso County Medical Society and “Dedicated Trauma Teams of the El Paso Community.”

Receiving the award on behalf of the community were Drs. Alan Tyroch (above left), Joel Hendryx, Alex Rios-Tovar of University Medical Center (UMC) of El Paso; and Stephen Flaherty, MD, of Del Sol Medical Center.

The shooting occurred on Aug. 3, 2019, at a Walmart near downtown El Paso. Emergency Medical Service units brought 13 of those victims to UMC and another 11 to Del Sol Medical Center.

“Many of us practice and drill how we and our hospitals and our cities would respond to such a disaster,” Dr. Fleeger said. “All of us hope and pray we never have to put those drills into action. But El Paso did – and you did it well.”

The TMA President’s Award is presented at the discretion of the president to recognize outstanding accomplishments during times of crisis.

Photo credit: David Palafox, MD

Last Updated On

February 06, 2020

Originally Published On

February 06, 2020

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