Dozens of Loma Linda University Health executives and leaders staff gathered on Friday, Dec. 1 on A-Level of the Medical Center around a new, permanent display in memory of the events that took place on Dec. 2, 2015. The group reflected on how the organization, community and law enforcement came together to support one another during a tragic time.
Chaplain Alfred Kambaki offered a prayer of blessing, and Richard H. Hart, MD, PhD, president of Loma Linda University Health, and Kerry Heinrich, JD, CEO of Loma Linda University Medical Center, offered a few words of remembrance and encouragement:
Richard Hart
“It’s so ironic that our country is now coming together over public shootings and the bonding that this represents. We are united because of a feeling of togetherness during tragedy.
“When we had our impact on December 2, we became a part of that. As you know the story, we have shared our sympathies and cards with other emergency departments in other parts of the country, and when our turn came, they came to us. Both with offers of help, orders of pizza, and all the other sort of things that people think about in times like this.
“Who knows where this will lead? That’s the part that causes pause. Where are we in this country, and how many more events will we go through?
“It seems as though we have a government that is stalemated on gun control, and stalemated on so many other issues, and yet this is what we are facing.
“I think this is a special moment as we look at all the cards that have come, and the various things from individuals and other hospitals and companies across the country, and as we celebrate the fact that we are a community, there’s nothing that ties us together quite like tragedy in health care. We just ended no-shave month with our local law enforcement agencies, another system that can be bonded by events such as this.
“Thank you for being here and celebrating with us, just momentarily, what these things mean to us, and what this means to the other entities across this country that we partner with.”
Kerry Heinrich
“I remember standing in front of the Emergency Department and watching as our health care professionals came down the walkway to the emergency department from anesthesia, to the trauma surgeons, to nurses who were off duty who came together to answer the call and gave of themselves and their personal time.
“They came together not because they had to, or because they were on call, but because it was the right thing to do for our community.
“I will always remember watching these professionals, standing there, waiting for the next round of patients to come in. I was deeply, deeply moved by that day and by our people, and by the difference our people made that day.
“So today is a remembrance of the victims, those who lost their lives, and those who were injured; but it is also a wonderful reminder of what this institution does for its community, the phenomenal gifts of the people who work here who show selfless dedication to our mission.
“Thank you. It is an incredible honor to work with you, and with each person in this institution.”