Pulse Shooting Survivors Won’t Face Hospital Bills

ORLANDO, FL — As survivors of June’s Pulse nightclub shooting continue to recover, they’ve received a bit of good news. The two hospitals responsible for treating the 53 victims wounded in the attack have said they won’t be sending bills in the mail.

Orlando Health and Florida Hospital both announced their intentions on Wednesday. The total writeoff in patient care related to the June 12 mass shooting, described as the worst in modern American history, is estimated at $5.5 million, several media outlets have reported.

Orlando Health’s Orlando Regional Medical Center treated 44 survivors in the hours and weeks after the attack. Nine people died shortly after arriving. Florida Hospital’s Orlando facility treated the other survivors in the attack that was launched on a near-capacity crowd at the popular gay nightclub.

See also: Orlando Shooting Victims Arrived in ‘Truckloads,’ Doctor Says

“During this very trying time, many organizations, individuals and charities have reached out to Orlando Health to show their support,” said Orlando Health’s David Strong, CEO and president, according to the Orlando Sentinel. “This is simply our way of paying that kindness forward.”

While Pulse patients won’t face bills, Orlando Health intends to send bills to insurance companies for any covered reimbursements. Families of the nine Pulse victims who died will also not be charged.

Florida Health made a similar announcement on Wednesday. That hospital treated 12 of the Pulse survivors.

“It was incredible to see how our community came together in the wake of the senseless Pulse shooting,” Daryl Tol, Florida Hospital’s CEO, was quoted by ABC as saying. “We hope this gesture can add to the heart and goodwill that defines Orlando.”

Florida Hospital doesn’t plan to bill insurance companies for Pulse victim care, the Sentinel reported.

Forty-nine people died when Omar Mateen opened fire inside Pulse June 12. Mateen was shot and killed by law enforcement, ending the rampage.

Orlando Regional, a level 1 trauma center located near the nightclub, received the bulk of the patients in the early morning hours that Sunday.

A few days after the massacre, which has since been classified as an act of terror, Orlando Regional doctors described the events that unfolded in the hospital’s emergency room that morning.

“We didn’t quite know what was about to hit us,” said Dr. Gary Parrish, medical director of ORMC’s emergency department.

See also: Pulse Shooting Victim Takes 1st Unassisted Steps (Video)

It was around 2 a.m. on Sunday when the hospital received notice of gunshot victims coming in. At first a few patients trickled in, and then it was five. Before long, they “started lining up in the hallway,” said Dr. Kathryn Bondani. “They were being dropped off in truckloads and ambulance loads.”

Soon after, the trauma bay was full to capacity, and phone calls started going out for additional support.

“In a matter of 30 minutes, we had multiple surgeons coming through the doors to help us out,” Bondani said.

As of Wednesday, one of Mateen's victims remained hospitalized at Orlando Regional. Others, like 26-year-old Angel Colon, have been released. Colon was among the first Pulse victims to speak publicly about what went on inside the club during the rampage. He was shot five times and believed he was going to die before a police officer pulled him to safety. He recently took his first unassisted steps following the June shooting.

Photo courtesy of the Orlando Police Department