Kishwaukee Community Hospital administrators held another press conference Friday morning to discuss the events of the previous night.

Praise for the “teamwork and responsiveness” of the community was frequent during a press conference at Kishwaukee Community Hospital Friday morning.

Twice a year, KCH staff train for emergency situations similar to the Cole Hall shooting, said Dr. Michael Kulisz, director of KCH Emergency room. A Code Alert was issued upon hearing of the incoming victims, which summoned extra staff to assist with the wounded.

“At the time when the patients were presented to the emergency room, there were approximately five orthopedic surgeons, four general surgeons, [and] five emergency room physicians, not to mention physicians representing every specialty including radiology and anesthesiology,” Kulisz said.

“I was just amazed and very pleased with the response of the community,” said Roger Maillefer, Chief of Staff and Surgeon on Call, “We had surgeons coming from outside of our communities calling to see how they could help. We had all kinds of specialists available.”

Beyond medical employees, extra hospital staff from housekeeping, maintenance, security, chaplains and counsellors were on-site, said Kevin Poorten, President and CEO of KishHealth System.

Some staff members at KCH were parents of NIU students, which “added another element” to their response when staff members didn’t know if the next patient would be a relative, Poorten said. However, none of the victims were related to hospital staff, he said.

“At this point, we think everything went about as well as it could have under the circumstances,” Poorten said.