ODESSA, Texas — Being prepared for the unexpected is how staff at Medical Center Hospital tackled a mass shooting in their own backyard Saturday.
"We are very well equipped for trauma," Dr. Sudip Bose said.
Bose explained MCH is the highest level trauma center for over 30,000 square miles.
The war veteran says the hospital has been planning for something like this for years.
"What you have to do, from my combat experience in the past, in surviving in Iraq is, you have to prepare in peacetime for war," Dr. Bose said.
In all, 14 patients came into the emergency room.
One patient died, a 17-month-old girl was flown to Lubbock after being shot in the face although she is expected to be okay.
The conditions of the other victims range from critical to treated and released.
The latest information from MCH states one patient is in critical condition, one remains in serious, and eight have been listed as fair.
Bose says the challenge isn't how to take care of injuries but figuring out what may cause problems.
"It's not always the emergency room that's necessarily the bottleneck.," Dr. Bose explained. "It may be the operating room staff. It may be the blood that we need. It may be certain supplies."
Dr. Bose stresses the Midland/Odessa shootings prove everyone needs to be ready to jump into action—no matter who you are and where you live.
"Take a basic life support class," Bose suggested. "Do you know what a stop the bleeding kit is? Do you know how to stop bleeding?"
They are lifesaving skills he says are needed more than ever.