By: Louise Lindsey, B.S., M.A., D.Div. Editor
Last week, there were two hospital shootings reported in the news-one in New Hampshire and the other in North Carolina. Events such as these point out the need for medical care facilities to have an Emergency Preparedness Plan in effect that deals with potential shooting incidents.
In the first shooting, it is not known why the man fired multiple shots around 11:40 p.m. inside the medical center. He was shot and killed by on-duty officers after they were called and began a search of the facility looking for the man. He was confronted by the officers in a hospital corridor, shot multiple times and died at the scene. The officers involved reported that the reason they shot him was because of his threatening behavior and actions when they encountered him.
The shooting in New Hampshire involved a 49-year-old man from Rhode Island who shot and killed his 70-year-old mother in the intensive care unit of the hospital. The incident happened in the early afternoon about 10 minutes after the man had checked in at the hospital’s visitor’s desk. The man was taken into custody and has been charged with first-degree murder.
The crime scene is still under investigation and no one else was hurt. It is still unknown why the killing occurred.
Staff and patients in the hospital at the time of the shooting reported that it was a terrifying event. The CEO of the hospital reported that she thinks the hospital responded well to the shooting because they had weeks of “active-shooter training.”
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services deadline for medical facilities to have an Emergency Preparedness Plan in place is November 15. Specifics of the CMS requirements can be found at: https://asprtracie.hhs.gov/cmsrule
