MUSC leaders reply to Tulsa, Oklahoma, hospital shooting

A message from MUSC leadership – June 3, 2022

Dear MUSC family,

As the impact of frequent and horrific mass shootings occurring all over the country continues to weigh on all of us, we felt it appropriate to touch base with you on another attack that hits particularly close to home.

On Wednesday, a gunman killed four people in a Tulsa, Oklahoma, hospital. Although this event took place outside of South Carolina, it’s jarring to hear about someone committing a heinous act in what is supposed to be a place of healing and life saving. While all mass violence is unacceptable and tragic, it’s hard not to think about what it would be like in the shoes of those individuals struggling with the aftermath of that crime, or worse, becoming a victim of a crime like this.

We mourn for those caregivers who lost their lives, and we grieve with all who were directly and indirectly affected by this tragedy. As health care professionals, caregivers, faculty, students and employees, we recognize that we lost members of our broader health care family yesterday.

We want to take this opportunity to remind you of the numerous security and safety protocols that we have in place on all of our hospital campuses, and that when events like this occur, our hospital security teams throughout the state and MUSC Public Safety officers, in Charleston, carefully review our protocols and physical security measures to keep all of those within our walls secure.

MUSC resources available 24/7 (Charleston):

MUSC Public Safety Department hotline
843-792-4196
Please call to report any safety incidents, suspicious person(s) or activity or any sense of compromised safety.

M.U.S.C. LiveSafe app
Available on both Android and iOS, the app connects immediately to MUSC Public Safety. The app also includes features such as SafeWalk, to follow co-workers virtually as they walk to their vehicles on campus, and one-touch emergency calling. The free app can be downloaded from Google Play or the Apple App Store. Learn more.

Emergency call boxes
Please utilize one of the emergency call boxes on campus to report any safety incidents, suspicious person(s) or activity or any sense of compromised safety. Call boxes are located in every parking garage and throughout our campus.

Campus Escort Service
The escort program provides personal safety escorts for certain occasions when you feel unsafe walking to a car or home, across university campus and the surrounding area. To access, call 843-792-2261 or 843-792-4196 and provide information to the dispatcher. Learn more.

MUSC Alerts
For prompt notifications of emergency situations, please register to receive text, voice or email emergency alerts on your personal device here. Note that notifications are automatically sent to all MUSC email recipients.

If you are a care team member in our MUSC Regional Health Network and have questions about safety measures at individual facilities, please touch base with your local leadership for resources and protocols specific to those locations.

We also understand that there may be immediate emotional needs for some of our MUSC family members, so we encourage you to reach out to the MUSC Resiliency Program, Employee Assistance Program, Student Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Pastoral Care Services or the MUSC National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Center if you feel you could benefit from individualized help.

In the days ahead, please continue to provide your sympathy and support for anyone in our network who may be suffering during this period of grief and loss.

Yours in service,

David Cole, M.D., FACS, President

Patrick Cawley, M.D., CEO, MUSC Health and Vice President for Health Affairs, University

Lisa Saladin, PT, Ph.D., Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost

Rick Anderson, MBA, CPA Executive Vice President for Finance and Operations