by John T.

The doors to the operating suite swing open and with aggressive urgency a hospital gurney is rushed in. On this gurney yet another 15 year old GSW (gun shot wound) client lies clinging to the strand of life which is with each second getting thinner. "Oh snap!" I think to myself. I realize I recognize this dredlocked kid as one of the "Pop Warner" football league players I would medic for at local youth football games. His white Tee shirt is now red and cut up the center to gain access to the multiple bullet wounds to his torso. Frightened and combative, he struggles against the medical staff because he can't breathe due to the blood that fills his mouth and nostrils. We have very little time to save his life.

The operating room is ready and supplies are opened and sterile. The gurney is pushed alongside the operative table and in synchronous concert the client is swiftly moved and prepared for traumatic intervention. As the Charge Nurse working the 11 to 7 shift at Oakland's Highland Hospital Trauma surgical unit, familiar faces always have an effect on you. I move to the head of the table, take the kids hand and connect with his eyes. Then I lean in closely explain to him he needn't struggle because we are here to "save your life, now work with us". He ceases to struggle, we attach monitors, intubate and prep him from his chin to his thighs. As the surgeons move into place we verify our client and intentions and the scalpel is pressed into the flesh. All this happens in a mere 300 seconds. That's usually all the time we have to save a life.

This same repetitive scenario is played out night after night in this hospital and many other urban medical centers across the country. As a surgery team dedicated to saving lives, we don't have the ability to discern the gangster from the victim, we're charged with increasing the chances of survival of our clients.

Here at Highland we serve a wonderfully diverse community, delivering care, and often life-saving services to those who would otherwise have no option. The Trauma Center and Emergency Department are among the busiest and most respected operations in the country. On average, 65,000 patients are served by the Emergency Department annually. The Trauma Center also sees 2,000 patients a year, more than any other East Bay Trauma facility.

We're in a long running crisis with violence in America. And speaking from the front lines we need a turn around right now, not tomorrow. In this city of Oakland our homicide rate for the year is currently at 119 with a bullet, and its climbing everyday. Unfortunately, there is a disproportionate number of young African American males who contribute to this death statistic. And I will say, even the baddest gangstas cry for their mother when they are wheeled in bloody and wounded. And we're determined to not let them die when they're caught on the wrong end of the gun.

After a harrowing surgery process, that young brother happened to survive that night but I've witnessed countless numbers who didn't. Everyday at my work at Highland Hospital, I see far too many young, Black males with gunshot wounds, probably inflicted by other black males. We all have heard the nightly news reports about this but few people stop to think about what happens during those precious seconds at the medical center when we have a chance to turn these brothers around.

Our children are not "Gettin' Rich" but they are definitely "dying trying." They are doing their best imitations of the media's misguided role models. Let's reduce the number of impromptu "sidewalk memorials" with flowers and candles laid against fences and corners in our hoods. Let's increase the numbers of dedicated mentors available to our children. 50 cent, B.E.T., and others in the media are not getting the job done.

Unfortunately, they are creating a heavier burden for medical trauma workers like me.

...THIS JUST IN: SAVE HIGHLAND GENERAL HOSPITAL

HIGHLAND IS A COMMUNITY HOSPITAL IN THE TRUEST SENSE. IN FACT IT'S MORE LIKENED TO A WORLD HOSPITAL, SERVING PATIENTS AS DIVERSE AS MONG
TRIBESMEN TO WOUNDED IRAQI CITIZENS . LAST YEAR THEY CLOCKED THE HOMICIDES IN OAKLAND AT ONE HUNDRED FORTY EIGHT. WHAT MISSING IS THAT THE TRUE FIGURE COULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERABLY HIGHER. THE EFFORTS OF
THIS TRAUMA CENTER CAN GO UNHERALDED BUT NO LONGER UNNOTICED. WE SAVE THE LIVES OF OUR FAMILY,FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS.

THE SAME PEOPLE WHO WOULD GREET OUR PATIENTS COMING IN FOR TRAUMATIC INTERVENTION LIVED AND GREW UP IN OAKLAND. WE WERE TOLD IN A RECENT MEETING OF THE O.R. STAFF, THAT THE CURRENT MANAGEMENT TEAM ARE
SEEKING TO CHANGE THE "CULTURE" OF HIGHLAND. EVENTS AS OF LATE HAVE REFLECTED A CHANGING OF "COLOR" OOPS! I MEANT CULTURE, DIDN'T I ? THIS ISN'T SARCASM FOR SARCASM'S SAKE, THIS IS THE MUTED FRUSTRATION
WHICH HINTS AT THE DEGREE TO WHICH POOR MANAGEMENT CHOICES HAVE WOUNDED THIS DEPARTMENT. HIGHLAND'S TRAUMA STAFF OF DOCTORS, NURSES AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANTS WOULD BRING THEIR SKILLS TO THE SERVICE
OF THOSE IN DESPERATE NEED. TIME AND TIME AGAIN MEETING WITH MORE SUCCESS THAN FAILURE. MANY ON THE NURSING TEAM WERE AFRICAN AMERICAN. SUPERBLY
TALENTED AT THEIR JOBS, SOME GIVING THIRTY YEARS OR MORE TO THE FACILITY. WE HAVE BEEN PLACED ON THE ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST.

HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN WITH THE CEO AND THREE OTHER EXECUTIVE STAFF BEING AFRICAN AMERICAN. HAS THE SPIRIT OF WARD CONNELLEY POSSESSED THEM! . THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE RACE CARD IS DEALT RATHER THAN PLAYED. WE HAVE SEEN AN INORDINATE AMOUNT OF FAILED TARGETED EFFORTS OF UNSUBSTANTIATED DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS, AGAINST AFRICAN AMERICAN EMPLOYEES. WE RECENTLY INVESTED ROUGHLY FIFTY HOURS OF ATTORNEYS FEES IN AN INVESTIGATION ABOUT THE EFFACY OF "HUGGING". THE CONVENIENCE OF DISTANCE FROM THESE
ISSUES IS NO EXCUSE FOR THE DEMORALIZING EFFECTS BROUGHT UPON THE STAFF OF THE O.R., SAME DAY AND PACU UNITS. DURING THE TENURE OF THE CURRENT
MANAGEMENT TEAM IT'S AS IF A BAD OMEN CAME THROUGH THE DOOR WITH THEM. WE HAVE HAD SEVERAL SENTINEL EVENTS OCCUR IN JUST THE LAST YEAR, ELABORATION MIGHT WARRANT YET ANOTHER DISCIPLINARY ACTION, SO I
SHALL REFRAIN.

SENSITIVE SUBJECTS REQUIRE A GREAT DEAL OF CORE STRENGTH AND CHARACTER TO DECIPHER. BULLYING HAS NEVER BEEN TRULY EFFECTIVE, IT USUALLY SERVES AS A
CATALYST FOR CHANGE. EASILY DISMISSED AS "NON TEAM" ORIENTED BEHAVIOR OR HANDLED WITH PATRONIZING AFFECT, THESE CONCERNS ARE VALID. THE BOTTOM LINE IS WHY IS OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM OBLIVIOUS TO THESE CONDITIONS? WHERE IS THE LEADERSHIP THAT CAN SEE BEYOND THEIR DESKS INTO THE WORK PLACE WHICH THEY INTRUST TO THEIR CHOSEN MANAGEMENT TEAM. IT SEEMS ANYONE CAN BE A MANAGER IF YOU DRESS THEM UP WELL. MY TEAM CONSIST OF MY CO-WORKERS, MY COMMITMENT IS TO MY COMMUNITY AND HIGLAND HOSPITAL. EMOTIONAL, NO! FACTUAL YES! MAKING A MISTAKE IS UNDERSTANDABLE, COMPOUNDING IT IS NOT.

Each one Teach one
"KILA SIKU" ( Everyday Brothers)

John T., R.N. is a charge nurse in the Trauma Unit at Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. 300 Seconds will be a regular column to whatchusay.com.