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2008 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 485
Commending Montgomery Regional Hospital, Lewis-Gale Medical Center, Carilion New River Valley Medical Center and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 29, 2008
Agreed to by the Senate, March 6, 2008

 

WHEREAS, Montgomery Regional Hospital in Blacksburg, Lewis-Gale Medical Center in Salem, Carilion New River Valley Medical Center in Radford, and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke led the response of area medical facilities to the tragic shootings on the Virginia Tech campus on April 16, 2007; and

WHEREAS, as information about what was happening on the campus was conveyed to Montgomery Regional Hospital, a “code green” was called that triggered hospital diversion, meaning rescue squads were requested to take stable patients to other area hospitals, all noncritical surgical procedures were cancelled, and noncritical emergency department patients were moved to outpatient surgery to clear emergency department beds; and

WHEREAS, without being requested to do so, hospital and medical staff who were not on duty that morning went to their respective hospitals or offered assistance to the other hospitals to ensure that all hospitals had adequate staffing and proper resources to handle every patient; and

WHEREAS, Montgomery Regional Hospital treated 17 patients from Virginia Tech, Lewis-Gale Medical Center treated five patients, Carilion New River Valley Medical Center treated four patients, and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital treated three patients, with injuries ranging from burns and back pain to broken bones and gunshot wounds requiring multiple emergency surgeries; and

WHEREAS, the hospitals and medical staffs provided excellent care to the injured and not a single patient from the tragedy who had survivable injuries was lost; and

WHEREAS, among the significant challenges the four hospitals faced that day were handling the hundreds of telephone calls from people searching for family members or friends and protecting patients’ privacy from the onslaught of local and national media; and

WHEREAS, patients treated at Montgomery Regional Hospital, Lewis-Gale Medical Center, Carilion New River Valley Medical Center, and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital after the shootings have been full of praise for the hospital and medical staffs, facilities, and treatment; and

WHEREAS, trauma center funding initiatives by the General Assembly better enabled these hospitals to respond with personnel and resources in a prompt manner; and

WHEREAS, the hospital and medical staffs, together with the administration of Montgomery Regional Hospital, Lewis-Gale Medical Center, Carilion New River Valley Medical Center, and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, responded to this tragedy with great compassion for their patients, delivering top-quality health care under the most tragic of circumstances; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the hospital and medical staffs of Montgomery Regional Hospital, Lewis-Gale Medical Center, Carilion New River Valley Medical Center, and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital for their professionalism and compassion in responding to the tragic events at Virginia Tech; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare copies of this resolution for presentation to the chief executive officers and chief medical directors of Montgomery Regional Hospital, Lewis-Gale Medical Center, Carilion New River Valley Medical Center, and Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital as an expression of the General Assembly’s enormous respect and admiration for their dedication to providing top-level medical care to the residents of the Commonwealth.