Mock Mass Casualty Incident Offers Students Emergency Medical Training

When Timothy Counihan, M.D., Central Maine Medical Center’s chief surgeon, described to University of New England students the immediate medical response in the aftermath of the Lewiston shootings on Oct. 25, 2023, Counihan was frank, visceral, and detailed.

And then, Counihan told the UNE students pursuing futures in health care professions what was in store for them.

“I think given the nature of our society, whether it’s a mass casualty event, whether it’s a shooting or natural disaster — with another hurricane in Florida the last couple of days devastating the region, between climate change and our gun culture — I think we really should be focusing on this,” Counihan said. “That’s why I’m so happy to help out, and see you guys here today. Because this is going to be part of your life, no matter what speciality you go into."

Counihan came to UNE on Saturday to speak with more than 60 students who participated in the University’s fourth-annual mock mass-casualty-incident event hosted by the UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) and the UNE student chapter of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine. He was one of four prominent physicians who came to assist in the teaching-and-training day focused on emergency response.

Sean Bildoeau (D.O., ’20) opened the day-long training with a talk on his experience as the Emergency Medical Services Fellow at MaineHealth, where he works in emergency response for the Portland Fire Department, LifeFlight of Maine, and MaineHealth Maine Medical Center.

As the state’s leading provider of health care professionals — and Maine’s only medical school, the UNE event at the Biddeford Campus drew students studying pharmacy, dental medicine, nursing, physician assistant studies, and other allied health professions.

All of them listened in rapt attention to Counihan. Over the course of an hour, he described what it was like to personally witness and treat victims in the aftermath of the Lewiston shootings, when a gunman killed 18 people at a bowling alley and nearby restaurant in Lewiston, just an hour north.

“It’s kind of a crazy country we live in. And you will see this stuff, no matter where you are: small town, rural, urban, it’s out there,” Counihan said, and then gave thanks for his Central Maine Medical Center team.

“I was lucky… We had a lot of military experience floating around. It was helpful, not so much for the technical skills, but just the mentality that: It’s gonna get bad. We’re just going to lean into it and get through it," Counihan added.

The eight-hour, training-and-teaching event also featured triage training sessions, several mock mass-casualty events using actors, and the chance to meet the crew of the LifeFlight of Maine air ambulance. All of it stressed the need to learn and prepare for mass-casualty disasters in the future.

But, by far, the most thought-provoking and inspiring part of the day was Counihan.

“I thought it was very impactful as someone who was not here during that time in Maine, hearing more of the details of the shooting. That's the only word I can think of: impactful,” said Asiak Etuka (D.O., ’28). “It was eye opening, hearing about the triage, deciding who to treat first, and about all the people who responded that day. I value that insight. I’m grateful for it. I’m grateful for this day.”

Over the past four years, UNE’s mock mass-casualty-incident event has focused on different aspects related to disaster medicine and emergency response. But this year, with the one-year anniversary of the Lewiston Shootings approaching, the students who organized the event wanted to focus on the lessons learned the day the largest mass shooting in Maine history took place.

Kyle Scully, Ph.D., associate clinical professor in the College of Osteopathic Medicine, who assisted the student leaders in organizing the event, said the UNE faculty are looking to the future — working on making the mock mass-casualty-incident event part of the college’s curriculum in the future, a fact that pleased Brooke McLaughlin (D.O., ’27), one of the student organizers.

“I don’t know if there is a medical school in the country that has this training as part of their curriculum. It would be very unique,” McLaughlin said.

Read press coverage by WGME 13 (Sept. 28 2024), WMTW 8 (Sept. 28, 2024), Yahoo! (Sept. 28, 2024), Portland Press Herald (Sept. 28, 2024), Maine Public (Sept. 29, 2024).