Florida Senate - 2017 (NP) SR 1802
By Senator Garcia
36-01996-17 20171802__
1 Senate Resolution
2 A resolution recognizing April 4, 2017, as “Trauma
3 Care Day” in Florida, commending the trauma care teams
4 at Orlando Regional Medical Center, Lee Memorial
5 Hospital, and Broward Health Medical Center for their
6 heroic response to mass casualty events in their
7 communities, and recognizing Orlando Health for its
8 dedication in promoting readiness for mass casualty
9 incidents in Florida and in communities nationwide.
10
11 WHEREAS, on June 12, 2016, Orlando was ground zero for the
12 deadliest mass shooting in the nation’s history, and
13 WHEREAS, on that horrific night a gunman opened fire with
14 an assault rifle inside a popular nightclub and murdered 49
15 people, and
16 WHEREAS, as events unfolded, Orlando Regional Medical
17 Center’s highly specialized critical care surgeons and trauma
18 team stood at the ready in the facility’s Level I Trauma Center,
19 and
20 WHEREAS, this unsurpassed level of trauma readiness and
21 activation saved 35 lives, and
22 WHEREAS, the Orlando Regional Medical Center Level I Trauma
23 Center is recognized nationally as a model for best practices in
24 responding to mass casualty events, and team members have taken
25 their message to communities nationwide regarding the benefits
26 of trauma center disaster planning and the regular performance
27 of mass casualty incident drills, and
28 WHEREAS, Orlando Health, the not-for-profit network of
29 community and specialty hospitals, clinics, and physicians of
30 which Orlando Regional Medical Center is a member, offered
31 ongoing, open communication with the nation and federal law
32 enforcement agencies, and compassionate psychological assistance
33 to the victims, their family members and friends, and witnesses,
34 and
35 WHEREAS, Florida’s trauma system is nationally recognized
36 as one of the best in the nation, and Floridians have access to
37 trauma care that greatly surpasses the national trauma center
38 access average, and
39 WHEREAS, Florida’s trauma centers are strategically located
40 to ensure not only the quickest response time, but the most
41 clinically proficient and highly skilled critical care surgeons
42 and trauma teams, and
43 WHEREAS, the United States Armed Forces place their trauma
44 surgeons in Florida trauma centers to ensure that they maintain
45 the highest level of clinical proficiency and to prepare the
46 surgeons to treat traumatic injuries on the battlefield, and
47 WHEREAS, Florida has a shortage of trauma surgeons, and
48 busy trauma centers like the Orlando Regional Medical Center
49 Level I Trauma Center are attractive training grounds for these
50 nationally recruited critical care military trauma surgeons, and
51 WHEREAS, for 35 years, the Orlando Regional Medical Center
52 Level I Trauma Center has provided an integrated program of care
53 that relies on the coordinated efforts of a multidisciplinary
54 team of trauma experts to provide the highest potential for
55 survival of a person who has experienced a critical injury or
56 illness, and
57 WHEREAS, two other Florida trauma centers faced similar
58 tragedies and successfully implemented mass casualty incident
59 responses, and
60 WHEREAS, on July 25, 2016, the Level II Trauma Center at
61 Lee Memorial Hospital activated its mass casualty trauma team in
62 response to a mass shooting at Club Blu in Fort Myers and saved
63 18 lives, and
64 WHEREAS, on January 6, 2017, the Level I Trauma Center at
65 Broward Health Medical Center activated its mass casualty trauma
66 team in response to a mass shooting at the Fort Lauderdale
67 Hollywood International Airport and saved 54 lives, and
68 WHEREAS, these three trauma centers collectively have more
69 than 75 years of trauma care experience, and
70 WHEREAS, it is essential and timely to bring recognition to
71 these facilities for the value and accomplishments of their
72 trauma centers and their trauma care teams, which consist of
73 dedicated men and women who save lives, responding both to
74 individual’s traumatic injuries, as well as mass casualty
75 incidents, NOW, THEREFORE,
76
77 Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of Florida:
78
79 That April 4, 2017, is recognized as “Florida Trauma Day”
80 in Florida, that we commend the trauma care teams at the Level I
81 Trauma Center at Orlando Regional Medical Center, the Level II
82 Trauma Center at Lee Memorial Hospital, and the Level I Trauma
83 Center at Broward Health Medical Center for their heroic
84 responses to the mass casualty incidents in their communities,
85 and that we recognize Orlando Health for its dedication in
86 promoting readiness for mass casualty incidents in Florida and
87 in communities nationwide.
88 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution, with
89 the Seal of the Senate affixed, be presented to the Level I
90 Trauma Center at Orlando Regional Medical Center, the Level II
91 Trauma Center at Lee Memorial Hospital, the Level I Trauma
92 Center at Broward Health Medical Center, and Orlando Health as a
93 tangible token of the sentiments of the Florida Senate.