KANSAS CITY, Mo. — As the number of homicides increases in Kansas City, Missouri, medical professionals in the city are feeling the effects.
On Saturday, at the Bluford Library, a handful of doctors and nurses talked about the homicide rate — 134 so far this year — and how it’s taking a toll on those who treat the victims.
Dr. Michael Moncure, a trauma surgeon at Truman Medical Center, said he many of his colleagues “burn out” and “are doing things that shield them from trauma.”
“I can't say that I blame them,” Dr. Moncure said. “I've developed a means of trying to cope with that. I've gotten additional training, being at Truman, with behavioral health and trauma-informed care. It's really important that I, as an individual that [is] treating these patients, can make myself as effective as possible so I can help save lives and also help them on the back end to get on the right track.”
While not everybody that comes in survives, it is key for those who do to understand the lasting effects of those injuries and how to treat them.
"They have to go to the doctor, they might be paralyzed and might have to go to rehab,” Mickie Keeling, a registered nurse at Truman Medical Center. “They could have some PTSD after this.”
It’s a problem they’re trying to treat, but wishing they didn’t have to.
"You just have to know that you have to give your all and that you have to do the best you can for that patient,” Keeling said.
The medical professionals discussed how the mass shooting drills are becoming more important in today’s environment in case an event like that happens in the Kansas City area.
