Hours-long donor lines form at Temple hospital where wounded Fort Hood soldiers are being treated

By CHRIS VAUGHN

cvaughn@star-telegram.com

TEMPLE — People waited in line for hours Thursday evening to donate blood at a Temple hospital where 10 Fort Hood soldiers were being treated, some for multiple gunshot wounds.

Four were undergoing surgery at Scott & White Healthcare, the only Level One trauma center between Austin and Dallas, officials said.

Dr. Glen Couchman, the hospital’s associate chief medical officer, characterized the soldiers as having "very, very serious injuries" but indicated that he thought they would survive.

"These are very seriously injured people," he said. However, "we are expecting for them to do OK."

Relatives were kept separate and were comforted by chaplains. Federal privacy law kept doctors from discussing anything the soldiers said about the shootings, officials said. But "you can imagine what your state of mind would be if you were shot," said Dr. Robert Greenberg, vice chairman of the emergency medicine department

The injured soldiers were transferred to the hospital directly from Fort Hood or from Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, officials said.

As the soldiers arrived, officials at Scott & White made a public plea for blood — and the community obliged. By Thursday evening, a two-hour line had formed, the biggest rush to donate since the days after 9-11, said Regina Phinney, hospital donor recruitment manager.

Army Staff Sgt. Donald Sistrunk was among those in line. He said he was not on post when the shooting occurred and found out about it from television reports.

"Even though you don’t know everyone in the Army, they are still your family," he said. "You don’t expect to lose guys stateside."

Looking at the long line of blood donors, he said he was touched by the support.

"We take care of our own the best we can," he said.

Staff writer Alex Branch contributed to this report.

CHRIS VAUGHN, 817-390-7547

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