Hospital, law enforcement plan 'active shooter' simulation drill for Tuesday

The staff at Sidney Regional Medical Center has gone through training, education and instruction on what to do if a threatening person with a gun entered the hospital looking to inflict harm.

On Tuesday, the hospital staff, emergency services and local law enforcement will get to put their knowledge to use as part of an active shooter simulation drill.

The Sidney Police Department and SRMC want to get the word out in advance so that area residents aren’t alarmed by the exercise. The drill will start at 9 a.m. and run until the early afternoon, but not past 2 p.m.

“This event will benefit the hospital staff and local law enforcement, and the greater community,” said Sidney Police Chief B.J. Wilkinson. “This helps solidify classroom training, it establishes parts of protocol and response that may need adjustment or refining, and it continues to mold the important relationship between law enforcement and the hospital, and then the hospital to the community.

“It’s important for our city to recognize our hospital is proactively engaging in preparedness for a host of situations, all because it recognizes its relevance and importance to the community,” Wilkinson added. “Law enforcement continues to be the common thread in training exercises like this one, with our schools, churches and medical facilities, including our nursing homes.”

This simulation will test the preparedness and reaction of all parties involved. All hospital personnel have been involved with classroom training within the last year regarding incidents such as these that could occur in the hospital.

“The sheriff and I have been working with the hospital staff for more than a year in training events leading up to this simulation,” Wilkinson said. “Along with schools and other high-density situations, hospitals create an environment where emotion and stress are readily evident. More and more hospitals are experiencing active shooter or deranged intruder situations, and we need to train there, as they involve some of the most vulnerable parts of our population.

“The entire hospital staff that may be working that day, and all of law enforcement who is working that day,” Wilkinson said. “We are trying to simulate a real-life real-time event, so it’s important not to stack the deck. We go with what we have and should a real event occur, we start calling in when we run out of resources.

“The event is designed to test the hospital protocol for active shooter or intruders, and we are testing our response. There will be no simulated injuries or triage, or anything post-event that is being evaluated that day.”