Elinore Kaufman, MD, a surgical critical care and trauma surgery fellow at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, is battling two public health crises right now: COVID-19 and gun violence, she wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times.
Nationwide, gunshot victims are "fighting for space and resources" at intensive care units, Dr. Kaufman said. Her trauma center has cared for 11 gunshot victims in the last week alone.
This trend is complicating care for trauma physicians nationwide who are already trying to ration ICU beds, supplies and human capital to treat a flood of COVID-19 patients.
"COVID-19 is going to require all our public health resources, but it is far from the only public health crisis we are facing," Dr. Kaufman wrote. "If we can come together to combat this latest challenge, let us stay together to work on another. So please, stop shooting. We need the beds."
To read the full op-ed, click here.