Many of the wounded in Sutherland Springs that fateful day ended up at SAMMC and University Hospital, two of the main trauma centers in South Texas. Today, University Hospital held a special event to recognize the one-year anniversary.
At University Hospital they held Sutherland Springs Remembrance Day to honor those victims who were injured, those that were lost, their families, and also first responders.
"On that day with regard to Sutherland Springs, this was a very active place, and we had a whole bunch of deputies out here, just like at Fort Sam Houston, and we had boots on the ground in Sutherland Springs as well," said Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar.
The Bexar County Sheriff's Office was just one of the many groups attending today. They gave out information about crime prevention. The San Antonio Fire Department made sure to get the word out about fire and heating safety as colder months approach, while keeping Sutherland Springs on their minds.
"Those of us that are on the front lines as first responders, the police the hospitals, we all get affected in different ways when there is any type of incident like this," said EMT Dana Zamarriipa.
Ted Day, the EVP of Strategic Planning and Development told us, "It's very important to keep the blood supply growing, and we have to be ready for our general patients we serve every day, and then we have some unique events sometimes that we need to be prepared for."
Not only did they hold a blood drive, but also classes called Stop The Bleed, in an effort to save lives. Dr. Lillian Liao, the Pediatric Trauma Medical Director at University Hospital, and Associate Professor of Surgery at UT Health San Antonio said,"Stop the bleed is actually a bystander technique for bleeding control to save a life.".
Knowing how to stop the bleed could mean the difference between life and death in situations similar to Sutherland Springs. Dr. Liao added, "The person that is standing next to the injured patient is probably going to be able to help them sooner, so that way we can prevent someone from dying before getting to the hospital."