LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- Shootings, stabbings, broken bones -- emergency room doctors see it all. But one local doctor doesn't wait for the crisis to come to him.
"Minutes and seconds do make a difference," says Dr. Tim Price of University Hospital. When a doctor rolls up on an emergency scene, it's sometimes the difference between life or death.
Dr. Price says, "I can sort of bring those services that our trauma center offers to them and can intervene until we can get them to U of L Hospital."
Doctor Price started at University Hospital in 1993 and began responding to scenes as a medic a few years later: "About the time I finished that residency in '96, I became the medical director for Anchorage Fire and EMS and they have been supportive and have given me a response vehicle."
Dr. Price also trains with the Louisville Metro SWAT Team. He says, "My many years with the SWAT team has taught me sort of situational awareness and police tactics and so that I can be safe and make sure that the scene is safe."
He's responded to everything from children choking to police shootings such as the 2009 shooting of Louisville Metro Police Officer Andrea Rice. He says, "I have made at least two police officer shootings, one on my way to work and rode in with that police officer from down in the Portland area and then another one on my way home from work, I responded to that and rode in with that police officer as well."
It's not uncommon for Dr. Price to finish up a long shift in the Emergency Room and get an emergency call somewhere in the area.Dr. Price says, "Three main reasons I keep doing this are police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical responders, and they're out there everyday putting themselves in potentially dangerous situations and so I try to be there to support them."
He does it all as a volunteer, for free: "I think we're put here to serve others, not ourselves."
Doctor Price says the most important thing he can provide to anyone on the scene is a calming presence, especially to parents when it comes to emergency situations involving children.
Copyright 2012 WDRB News. All Rights Reserved.
