UMC, LCMC officials describe emergency response after New Year's Day mass casualty

University Medical Center and LCMC Health officials told the LSU Board of Supervisors that their staff responded to a large-scale mass casualty incident in New Orleans on New Year’s Day, treating about 26 patients in the first two hours and standing up rapid surge and family-reunification operations.

The presentation, given to the Board during its meeting, outlined clinical, security and family-support steps taken after the hospital received an early-morning call about a large incident. Greg Fearn, chief executive officer of LCMC Health, said his system quickly escalated staffing and resources: “Pretty quickly, they realized that there were gonna be a number of patients coming into the hospital, and that’s when our emergency department went through a process of notifying what we call a small scale mass casualty incident,” he said. “Within the next roughly 30 to 45 minutes, we then activated a large scale MCI.”

Why it matters: University Medical Center (UMC) is the region’s safety-net trauma center and was the primary receiving hospital for the incident. Board members said the hospital’s capacity and coordination with LSU physicians and area hospitals were central to preserving life and reuniting families.

Board presentation and details

Lisonbee Gust, who oversees nursing practice at University Medical Center, described a scene of “very controlled chaos” and credited recent drills with preparing staff: “The performance of the team was nothing less than spectacular,” she said, noting the hospital had drilled for mass-casualty scenarios in preparation for the Super Bowl. Gust also told the board that the hospital had received a bomb threat the day before, which complicated staff concerns about safety; in response the hospital increased security and brought in detection dogs.

Hospital leaders said the injuries treated ranged from serious head, chest and abdominal trauma to multiple orthopedic injuries. Officials reported taking care of roughly 20 patients in the first hour and about 26 in the first two hours; some patients required extended stays — one patient remained hospitalized for about 23 days. Dr. Patrick Griffinstein and Dr. Allison Smith (both identified by UMC presenters as part of the trauma/acute care teams) were named among the LSU-affiliated clinicians who came to assist.

Family reunification and community response

Officials described rapidly establishing a call center to field hundreds of calls from relatives and to serve as a family-reunification hub after city resources were unavailable that night. Gust said the hospital’s IT and emergency-management teams stood up a call center within about 45 minutes and fielded “over 500 calls in just the first hour.” She said the hospital created an incident command center and family-reunification area, and staffed it with counselors, psychiatrists and grief specialists.

Gust described the emotional toll on staff and families when the coroner’s office met with families in designated rooms to confirm deaths, calling that “probably the hardest emotional part of that day.” She said about 10–12 families could not locate loved ones and required extended support and that the hospital provided lodging, meals and travel arrangements for family members when needed.

Outcomes and follow-up

Fearn and Gust told the board that mutual-aid partners — including LSU anesthesia, LSU emergency medicine, Tulane orthopedics and other specialists — mobilized to support the clinical response. President William Tate and multiple supervisors publicly thanked LCMC, UMC and LSU faculty for their work. Tate said the hospital’s role “is vitally important to the state and vitally important to New Orleans,” and several supervisors echoed appreciation for the hospital’s performance.

No formal board action was taken on the hospital presentation. Board members asked follow-up questions about the hospital’s role as a safety-net provider and the partnership between LSU and LCMC.

Ending

Board members said the presentation underscored UMC’s role in regional trauma response and the value of university–hospital clinical partnerships. Officials urged continued coordination and expressed gratitude to front-line staff and volunteers involved in the response.