Casualties Mount as Strife Continues in Ferguson

Aug. 18--SSM -- DePaul Health Center treated 12 individuals following the Ferguson demonstrations Sunday, the most injuries any hospital has reported during one night since the protests began.

Two gunshot victims were treated and released Sunday night at DePaul, Spokeswoman Jamie Sherman said. Another 10 were treated for injuries sustained after a high-speed chase with police.

Sherman said it's unclear if all 10 individuals were in the same vehicle. Four remained at the hospital and in stable condition as of Monday morning.

At a separate facility, an individual was treated for shortness of breath Sunday evening at Christian Hospital. But Christian Hospital officials could not confirm if the shortness of breath was caused by the tear gas used by police at the scene of the protests.

Getting to those injured has become difficult for first responders, and has caused a shift in strategy, Chris Cebollero, chief of EMS for Christian Hospital, said. His crews now park in "staging areas" where they wait for the injured to be brought to them.

"Early on we had some challenges with folks attacking the ambulance and we needed to make sure that our folks stayed safe," Cebollero said.

Now the ambulance crews have become part of incident command alongside officers. At least one ambulance is on site continuously after about 6 p.m., Cebollero said.

As the protests have continued, Cebollero said they have added about five additional ambulances to the evening rounds. Typically, eight ambulances are in operation during the day and are responsible for a specific geographic region, Cebollero said.

The additional trucks ensure that "we're not taking away from the rest of the system's responsibility" Cebollero said. "If a call goes out in Black Jack, they're going to get their ambulance and the crew that they're used to."

At the moment, Cebollero said he's not worried about the additional cost of bringing on extra crews. He said responding to the needs of the community is what they're focused on first.

"I'm sure when it's all said and done we'll sit down and say, 'What did this cost us?'" Cebollero said.

The majority of injuries being treated by Cebollero's crews are not life-threatening, he said. There was a man beaten unconscious early on, but since then Cebollero said most individuals are being treated at the scene and then released.

It seems that those with more serious injuries are getting to the hospitals on their own, he said.

Surprisingly, Cebollero said call volume has been down by about 20 percent in the last week.

"I think maybe there is a heightened sense of awareness within the community and people are not calling us as much as they did," Cebollero said.

Samantha Liss is a business reporter at the Post-Dispatch. Follow her on Twitter @samanthann and the business section @postdispatchbiz.

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