As gun violence increases in the PNW, so does its toll on doctors

As a medical services officer, Bambrick has been on numerous calls involving gun violence in Tacoma. The department typically turns these around in under 10 minutes, sometimes fewer, and requires a huge crew — a transport unit, two engine companies and a battalion chief. “I don’t think that people understand the amount of resources, actually, that we’re sending just to try to save that person’s life,” said Bambrick.

The goal is to get the person who’s been shot to a hospital as soon as possible — either Tacoma General or St. Joseph. For first responders, “There’s not a lot in the field that we’re going to do,” he said. “It’s kind of like we’re just preventing death at this point, but we’re really not fixing anything. We’re just trying to get them to the trauma doc as quickly as we can.”

Later this year, Tacoma Fire will start equipping its teams with blood for these calls, so that patients can receive blood even before they go to the hospital: Bleeding is a major cause of death for victims of gunshot injuries. Carrying blood is an emerging practice among emergency departments only recently implemented in King County. Bambrick hopes it will be “a game-changer” for victims of shootings.

As for the psychological impact, he said, the hardest part of responding to these calls is seeing how they impact victims’ loved ones: “It’s the other people around when you respond to a young person that’s been shot … it’s just absolutely devastating.”

The family photos are what stay with him. “That’s what always gets me,” he said. “I can see the pictures of the kid on the wall, and now they’re on the ground, and they have a devastating gunshot injury, and stuff like that sticks with you. It’s not something that you just go home and wash it off. We talk about it making little marks on your soul. It’s just going to be with you.”

‘It pushes them away from the ledge’

Given clinicians’ frustration with treating injuries they see as preventable, it’s no surprise that major health care organizations have called for gun control. The American Nurses Association has advocated for waiting periods and background checks on gun purchases and a ban on assault rifles.

The Washington State Medical Association, which has characterized gun violence as a public health crisis, advocated for a ban on open-carrying weapons in public parks and hospitals and enhanced criminal penalties for assaulting health care workers. In the 2025 legislative session, the group plans to promote a bill supporting physicians’ access to confidential support services.

Policy solutions are one possible route to preventing some of the violence clinicians witness, but some are more effective than others. While Washington does have a ban on the sale of semi-automatic assault style rifles, that law is unlikely to have much of an impact on a busy emergency department like the one at Harborview, where most firearm injuries involve handguns, according to Akhavan.