Nurse of the Week: Libby Brown, Trauma Nurse, Says She Knows What Love Is After Treating Victims of Orlando Pulse Shooting

Six months after the tragedy of the shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub, memories of that night are still clear for the healthcare providers who cared for the survivors. To share what they experienced and learned during their shifts in the Orlando Regional Medical Center (ORMC) trauma center on June 12, doctors, nurses, and hospital executives have been traveling to conferences across the country to educate other medical providers.

Trauma Nurse Libby Brown was one of the many healthcare providers who treated survivors of the Pulse tragedy and she recalled the events of that night for the Orlando Sentinel. Brown recalls working her normal shift at the ORMC trauma center when her husband, an Orlando fireman, messaged her about gunshots at Pulse. Shortly after, the in-house trauma surgeon announced that their first patient was arriving.

The patients didn’t stop there, with one after another coming into the trauma center. Brown quickly realized that it was a scenario they had never experienced before and not all of their patients were going to survive. All healthcare professionals are trained for triage to help them make quick decisions and save as many lives as possible, but making life and death decisions in real time is nothing like practicing in a classroom. The ORMC trauma center received a total of 44 patients that morning, nine of whom died. Their last survivor was discharged in September.

Speaking candidly about the events of that night, Brown told OrlandoSentinel.com, “All I think about is love. In the face of hate, the only thing that can change that is love, and I know what love is, because I was there that night.”

Thank you to our Nurse of the Week, Libby Brown, and the many other healthcare professionals who treated the survivors of this tragic event.