Parkland Hospital: Voices from HistoryAll Exhibits
At 12:30 p.m. on Friday, November 22, 1963, shots were fired at President John F. Kennedy's limousine as his motorcade concluded its procession through downtown Dallas. The closest major trauma center was Parkland Memorial Hospital, three and a half miles away on Harry Hines Boulevard.
Prior to the president's visit, the Secret Service had identified Parkland as the location he would be taken in case of an emergency. Parkland workers were carrying out their normal daily duties when emergency STAT calls went out for the senior staff.
The president's limousine arrived at the emergency room entrance at 12:35 p.m. In the limousine jump seat, a wounded Texas Governor John Connally lay semiconscious in his wife's lap. He was removed first to allow access to President Kennedy. Hospital personnel rushed Connally into Trauma Room Two and President Kennedy, followed closely by his wife, Jacqueline, was taken into Trauma Room One.