ARCHBOLD HOSTING ACTIVE SHOOTER DRILL THURSDAY
On Thursday, October 20, 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.
“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.
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. The hospital has been working with first responders and community partners for months to prepare for the drill on Thursday.
“It’s very important that we evaluate 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 at the Archbold Ambulatory Care Center located on South Broad Street near the Archbold Memorial Hospital campus. The scenario will involve a staged visitor becoming hostile, escalating 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, City of Thomasville and Thomas County, including both public school systems, 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. “Though residents may receive a text or phone call alerting them of the scenario, we want to stress to the community that this is only a drill, and Archbold and local law enforcement will be in full control of the simulation.”
To sign up for Thomas County E911’s emergency alert system, residents are encouraged to access the self-registration portal at www.thomascountyboc.org.
For more information on the upcoming Code Silver drill at Archbold, please call Chuck Winchester, (229) 551-2199.