Butler Memorial was ‘prepared’ when Trump came in for care
The last thing the staff at Butler Memorial Hospital expected to handle Saturday was an emergency visit from a former president of the United States. More accustomed to treating local patients than high-profile political figures, the 294-bed community hospital quickly found itself thrust into the center of a national emergency.
Following a failed assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump during his rally at the Butler Farm Show grounds, the hospital’s staff quickly mobilized to deliver care. Just 11 miles from the scene of the shooting, Butler Memorial Hospital was the closest medical facility for treatment.
While such cases are far from the norm at Butler Memorial, the staff’s professionalism and preparation shone through. Their rapid response demonstrated that excellence in health care isn’t limited to big-city medical centers, said Karen Allen, president of Butler and Clarion hospitals. Allen, a registered nurse, was among the on-site team members coordinating Trump’s care.
“Butler Memorial isn’t a small community hospital that only does first aid,” she said. “We do high-end procedures here, so we weren’t surprised (Trump) came here for treatment. We were proud that he came here and were prepared for him to come here.”
Part of Independence Health System, Butler Memorial boasts a large critical care unit and offers extensive emergency care services to patients. Its involvement in Trump’s care has boosted the hospital’s visibility among national and international health care organizations. “It puts us out there nationally more than we’ve ever been,” said Allen. “Our community will be proud of our hospital for taking care of the former president, that they had enough confidence in us to bring him here.”
Dr. David Rottinghaus, president of the physician network of Independence Health System, said he’s pleased to see his colleagues receive recognition for their compassion and professionalism. “It’s unfortunate that we got this opportunity because of such a tragic event,” he said. “The loss of a life weighs heavily on minds, and we share our condolences from the entire system.”
While the medical team was not permitted to speak on Trump’s injuries or the specifics of his care, Trump posted to his account on Truth Social, “I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear” and indicated he was doing well after treatment.
As soon as Butler Memorial was notified Trump would come there for treatment, Allen said the hospital’s emergency management plan kicked in. “When there’s an incident of this magnitude, the nursing supervisor calls the administrator on call, who then activates the people who are necessary to deal with the specific incident,” she said.
Among those called to the hospital to coordinate Trump’s care were Allen, Rottinghaus and Ken DeFurio, president and CEO of Independence Health System. The hospital’s head of security and information technology director also were called in to handle any requests from Trump’s team.
“This was unanticipated, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t prepared for,” Rottinghaus said. “We’re proud of our staff and the excellent job they did throughout this entire situation.”
In addition to the leadership team, the regular emergency room staff on duty was involved with Trump’s care. At the request of Secret Service, the facility went into full lockdown mode, Allen said. “No one could come in or go out of the ER unless they were needed for care elsewhere. The staff who showed up for their 7 p.m. shifts couldn’t get in and the staff that was to be off at 7 p.m. couldn’t leave.”
For added security and to protect Trump’s privacy, BMH’s internet was shut down while he was at the hospital. Allen said the facility has a protocol for continuing operations during the loss of the internet, so the request didn’t affect the former president’s care or that of other patients in the hospital at the time. “We had excellent communication, and everybody worked together to accomplish what we needed to accomplish,” she said.
To further safeguard Trump’s privacy, Allen said a reminder was communicated to everyone on staff that all patients deserve the utmost respect and privacy, and no one was to access patient records or speak about patient care.
“Everybody understood the gravity of the situation that we were in and how we needed to protect the privacy of the former president,” she said.
While the hospital rerouted ambulances to other nearby hospitals during the lockdown, all patients already at Butler Memorial were treated and held until the lockdown was over.
“We ran like a well-oiled machine,” Rottinghaus said. “The communication among all involved in his care was good, which helped create a smooth process overall.”
The hospital’s leadership team was expected to hold a debriefing Tuesday, July 16, to talk about what went well and which portions of the trauma response plan may need improvement.
“We’ll break down with our team and involve all the different areas and portions of responsibility from patient care to security to IT,” Rottinghaus said. “Even if things seem to go perfectly, there’s always things you can tweak to make it better. We couldn’t be happier that (Trump’s) OK. Anything we can learn to make ourselves better, we will.”
