On Tuesday, October 29, Archbold Memorial Hospital will hold an active shooter drill, during which hospital staff will simulate a response to an overhead announcement of “Code Silver.”
Code Silver is the hospital’s non-clinical emergency code used to alert staff and visitors of an active shooter, anyone engaged in trying to kill others with any type of weapon, on the hospital campus.
Archbold frequently holds drills to remind staff how to respond to internal emergencies or disasters such as fire, extreme weather and infant or child abduction. In addition, the hospital routinely partners with local law enforcement and first responders to simulate external events such as chemical spills and mass casualty events that, in real life, would result in enacting the activation of a county-wide emergency management plan.
“It’s extremely important that our staff knows how to respond in real emergency situations and during a crisis or disaster that could affect the safety and well-being of our patients, visitors and employees,” said Chuck Winchester, Archbold emergency management coordinator.
“It’s also very important that we continuously evaluate and reevaluate our policies and test our procedures to ensure the safety of our staff, patients and community,” said Winchester. “Our team has met with local law enforcement and city and county officials several times in preparation for the upcoming Code Silver exercise. We’ve developed a joint plan that we’ll implement during the exercise to test the policies and procedures we’ve discussed and put in place for this type event.”
The drill will take place primarily in the basement of Archbold Memorial Hospital located at 915 Gordon Avenue in Thomasville. The staged scenario will involve a disgruntled employee becoming hostile, and will escalate to the point of simulated gun shots being fired. Law enforcement and first responders will respond to the hospitals call to E-911, arriving on the scene to assess and control the simulated situation.
“Archbold will test their mass notification systems during the drill. Social media will also be used to test the ability to disseminate information quickly to the community during an actual event,” said Winchester. “Patients, visitors or passing motorists may see law enforcement entering the hospital carrying weapons and wearing tactical gear. The public should be aware this is a drill only for training purposes. It’s also possible there could be temporary street closures during the drill.”
For more information on the upcoming Code Silver drill at Archbold, please call Chuck Winchester, (229) 551-2199.