Two emergency room nurses are suing a Florida hospital over a training session that included a simulated active shooter exercise that trainees were not informed was part of a drill. The two women filed separate lawsuits against the hospital.
According to the lawsuits, the nurses attended a mandatory “Disaster Preparedness and Mass Casualty training session” at the hospital. During the training session, the hospital staged an unannounced active shooter situation, where a male employee carried what appeared to be a semiautomatic weapon, made a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot, burst into the training room, pointed his weapon at the nurses and other employees, and told everyone to get on the ground. One of the nurses called 911.
Both allege they were not informed it was a drill until 10 minutes later. According to the lawsuit of one of the nurses, she was “terrified, severely traumatized, and in fear of her life, and she believed she was caught in the middle of a true active shooter situation.” Each nurse is seeking $30,000 in damages.
The hospital said that they have addressed this instance to ensure a standard process is followed consistently and that they will continue to work with industry experts to make their training as effective as possible at protecting their teams and patients.
Issue:
As a part of their Emergency Preparedness Plan, facilities are required to have an Active Shooter Protocol for responding to situations that may occur inside or outside of the facility in support of the safety of both residents and staff members. Facility staff should be included in the planning and practice of potential active shooter and other workplace violence drills, and should not be left unaware that what will transpire is a practice drill, not an actual workplace violence event. Include local law enforcement and first responders in your efforts.
Discussion Points:
- Review policies and procedures regarding the facility’s Emergency Preparedness Plan provisions for the performance of risk assessments and drills, including the advance notification of staff.
- Train staff in the process for conducting risk assessments and active shooter drills. Ensure everyone is informed in advance so they are not caught unaware. Staff will learn critical safety information best from the drill and accompanying instruction in a teaching atmosphere as opposed to when feeling terror and fearing that their lives are in jeopardy.
- Periodically audit Emergency Preparedness Plan provisions and live drills to ensure that there is a process in place for staff notification in advance.
