TULSA, Okla. — Today was somber day in Tulsa for the medical community.
Saint Francis said their community is like a family and they are in mourning.
Saint Francis Health System is still in disbelief that a place of healing could become a place where lives are lost.
“Today our world, and St. Francis family are devastated,” Dr. Ryan Parker, M.D. , St. Francis Associate CMO and ER physician said.
The grief, the hurt, and the pain is evident among members of the St. Francis community.
“There’s no words that can adequately describe the emotions that we have been feeling for the last 18 hours," Dr. Parker said.
A place where people go to receive healthcare turned into chaos Wednesday evening when a gunman entered the Natalie Building and opened fire, killing four people before killing himself.
“To the families of our colleagues that were killed, our hearts break for you,” Dr. Parker said.
Two of the victims were doctors at the facility, one was a receptionist and another a patient, William Love.
“We so wanted to utilize our skills and training to save precious lives…to the family of Mr. Love, I’m so sorry we couldn’t save you…we are grieving with you,” Love said.
Saint Francis Health System leaders struggled to find the words to make sense of the senseless act.
“We are supposed to be the ones carrying for others during tragedies, to think that our caregivers were the victims, it’s just incomprehensible to me,” Parker said.
Dr. Cliff Robertson M.D., president and CEO of Saint Francis Heath System encouraged his more than 10,000 employees to come together in unity as the strong community they are.
“While it’s human nature to want to turn our backs right now, to want to walk away, we can’t do that…and we won’t do that,” Dr. Robertson said.
“Our job is to help and heal and we are here to do our job, even if it’s with broken hearts,” Dr. Parker said.
St. Francis said the orthopedic clinic closed indefinitely until further notice. Other campus locations have resumed appointments
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