UNMC leadership sent the following message to the UNMC comumnity on Thursday morning:
Yesterday, there was yet another mass shooting, this time in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This time, it took place at a hospital complex, in a building that provided medical services. People were killed at a health care complex designed to save lives.
This comes less than two weeks after the horrific killings in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and two teachers lost their lives at an elementary school. And in between those two events, according to the Gun Violence Archive, there were almost 20 other shootings across the United States in which four or more people were killed or injured.
As health professionals, we have long been aware of the epidemic of gun violence, something the American Medical Association has called a public health crisis. As healers, community members and community leaders, we deplore these actions and must look for ways to help end them.
As individuals and as an organization focused on health and wellness, we may be feeling more vulnerable in the wake of the Oklahoma incident. UNMC has a safety plan in place in the event of an active shooting event on campus, and we urge you all to become familiar with it. UNMC and Nebraska Medicine have a dedicated and committed public safety team. Today, no one can say "This can’t happen here." But we are as prepared as any organization can be, and we continue to plan and prepare.
At Thursday's campus forum, Chancellor Jeffrey P. Gold, MD, was joined by Charlotte Evans, chief of police and associate vice chancellor for the UNO/UNMC Department of Public Safety to discuss campus safety. A report on that forum will be available in UNMC Today on Monday.
For those who are feeling shocked, grief-stricken or vulnerable in the wake of these events, UNMC also has wellness resources for every segment of the campus community: faculty/staff and house officers and students. Especially in the wake of this latest attack, we urge any who feel the need to access them.
These heartbreaking events seem to keep coming. But the UNMC community can stand together, both to speak against these senseless acts and to support one another as we grapple with the grief, anger, loss and sense of helplessness they may provoke.