MPH’s alumnus Guillamondegui: Life-saving techniques in an active shooter situation
Vanderbilt University Medical Center doctors and nurses treat about two gunshot wounds a day.That includes wounds from small handgun gunshots, all the way up to high-powered rifles like the ones used in the Las Vegas concert shooting. Dr. Oscar Guillamondegui is the trauma medical director at Vanderbilt. As a trauma surgeon, he regularly treats victims of gunshot wounds.
Victims struck in an extremity can have a high chance of survival, depending on the care they receive after the gunshot.
“If you’re struck in an extremity, your chance of survival is very high but that comes down to a couple of things. Number one, pressure on the wounds. Number two, the use of tourniquets. Both of these have been rolled out in the presidential White House campaign called Stop the Bleed. We are teaching that to local people, whether they’re school teachers, first responders of any kind. Anything that can help you control the hemorrhage will keep somebody alive. And anybody can learn that.”