UConn Health leadership and staff participated on June 7 in a U.S. Department of Homeland Security FEMA led tabletop drill exercise to further enhance its response to an emergency situation such as an active shooter.
“As a campus we need to make sure we are always as prepared as possible for a natural or man-made disaster such as workplace violence that can occur at any time or anywhere. This is why we drill regularly at UConn Health,” says Bryan Gran, the new emergency management specialist at UConn Health who led the interactive discussion-based exercise.
Institutional representatives hailed from across the departments of fire, police, hospital, facilities, communications, nutrition and emergency departments at UConn Health. In addition, representatives participated from the Connecticut State Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, the West Hartford Fire Department and seven other institutions from across the country.
“Very few people are trained to know what to do for their personal protection in an active shooter situation,” says Joe Curreri, chief of UConn Health Police. This is why since 2014 UConn Health has made active shooter awareness and education mandatory for all new employees and students during their onboarding orientation.
Curreri added, “Education about active shooters is not designed to alarm employees, but to make them more aware of the possibility of this type of event occurring whether at work or in their day-to-day lives and to make them more aware of their response options should they find themselves in this situation.”
In fact, a study performed by Johns Hopkins Office of Critical Event Preparedness found that there were more than 150 hospital-related shootings nationwide from 2000 to 2011, in more than 40 states, and with more than 235 people killed or injured. Unfortunately, hospital related shootings have been on the rise since the study was completed.
Should you ever find yourself in harm’s way take proactive steps to protect yourself and help save more lives.
Important Tips to Remember:
- Be aware: To help prevent an event’s occurrence, make sure to report any suspicious warning signs of a potential active shooter or violent person to the Police immediately by calling 9-1-1.
- Know the Emergency Codes: Remember to wear your UConn Health identification card at all times so you can quickly refer to the back of it for any announced emergency hospital codes. A ‘Silver’ alert stands for an active weapon threat.
- Remember to ‘Run, Hide, Fight’: These three action may make the difference in your survival during an active shooter situation.) Run: Try to escape or evacuate the active shooter’s area if you can to safety. Only you are important so leave any belongings behind. As you run verbally alert others to prevent their harm and call 9-1-1 once you are safe.
2.) Hide: If you can’t escape the active shooter’s area, find a place to hide behind a locked or barricaded door or even behind a large object. Remain quiet and remember to silence your phone.
3.) Fight: As a last resort, if you can’t run or hide, fight with aggression against the active shooter assailant whether alone or as a group.
For more tips on emergency preparedness, visit: https://health.uconn.edu/police/crime-prevention/.