GRAND BLANC, Mich. (WXYZ) — Three physicians at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital spoke about the work they did and the care they provided after a mass shooting and fire at a Grand Blanc Township church over the weekend.
Dr. Alan Janssen, the emergency medicine residency program director and medical director of emergency medicine, Dr. Chris Ash, the medical director of surgical services and Dr. Sanford Ross, an attending emergency physician and assistant director of the emergency department, spoke on Wednesday, four days after a gunman opened fire at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township.
See the entire press conference in the video below
Janssen said that they were first alerted to the shooting after a phone call from one of the hospital's residents, who was inside the church. That resident told Janssen there was an active shooter.
About 15-20 minutes after that, ambulances started to arrive.
"As I walked into the emergency room, all these patients started rolling through the door with wounds you never see," Ash said. "People bleeding, little kids, it was really all hands on deck."
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Ash said that the teams did an amazing job helping prioritize the care and keep everyone alive.
"Emergency medicine is a team sport. You need the entire team to be engaged. Everyone has to be on the same page," Janssen added, saying everyone worked together perfectly that day.
Ross recalled that he was in the department with Janssen when the first patient came in the door, a 6-year-old with his mom. He was taken to a trauma bay, and once the doctor's assessed his injuries, they reassured him he would be OK. That boy went home later that night.
According to the doctors, several of the hospital's residents went to the church and were with their kids when it happened.
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Some of them acted with heroics to bring people out of the fire. So, this is deeply personal to our community, not just our hospital," Ash said.
Two of the residents were injured, and one of the residents' children.
"What really turned us was not only the age and severity but also the connection. We were treating our own, which is always a little harder," Ross said.
In all, five people were treated for gunshot wounds and three for smoke inhalation. As of Wednesday, three people are still hospitalized, but all are improving.
