Another Mass Shooting—This One Shutting Down a Hospital. Your Response Has to Be Immediate

When six people were shot sometime after midnight in Memphis this Tuesday, the impact on the nearest hospital was a bit more complicated than preparing for multiple patients with traumatic injuries. Methodist North Hospital—located just a stone’s throw from the crime scene—was actually shut down for a time in the wake of the violence, with the clinical team dispatched to treat patients with gunshot wounds while other staff had to route incoming patients away from the emergency room to keep the area clear for the police investigation. No one connected with the hospital was injured, fortunately. The proximity of the shooting to the healthcare facility is a reminder that we have to be prepared for the possibility of having an active shooter on site in an urgent care center. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends (but does not require) urgent care centers or occupational medicine operators to have a Safety Committee in place to help prepare for disasters, and that the committee devise a disaster plan than includes an active shooter procedure. You can get more details by reading Staying in Good Stead with OSHA Starts with Maintaining Proper Records in the JUCM archive.