Active Shooter Work Group
IHA has worked with member hospitals and coordinating work group project to support enhanced active shooter planning, training and exercise activities by identifying best practices, sharing lessons learned and developing supportive resources.
In 2014, IHA and Oswego Health coordinated a work group project to develop an active shooter plan template. IHA developed further guidance outlining critical planning and response considerations based on work group discussions, law enforcement recommendations, and after action reviews. Hospitals were reimbursed $4,500 through their HPP contract for adopting an active shooter plan.
Based on discussions of the 2013-14 work group and best practices, IHA developed a document outlining key planning considerations for developing active shooter plans. The document was updated in 2018 to reflect guidance issued by HHS ASPR.
More recent federal guidance and after action recommendations detail additional planning and response considerations and highlight the importance of conducting training and exercises. Designing and conducting training and exercises is time-intensive, requiring executive support, organization-wide buy-in, and participation of law enforcement and response partners. Challenges include not disrupting patient care, causing fear or alarm, and inclusion of all department and staff.
In discussing how Iroquois members have addressed these challenges, IHA and Cayuga Medical Center led a work group to identify best practices and share lessons learned for conducting training and exercises. The COVID-19 public health emergency interrupted progress on the work group’s objectives. interrupted prog These objectives were based on a planning needs survey which IHA designed.
The work group held a session on November 8, 2019 to share information on active shooter training and exercises conducted recently by hospitals, and address work group objectives of identifying best practices, tools and resources for designing and conducting exercises. Below are materials shared at this meeting.
- November 8, 2019 Agenda: Active Shooter Exercise Practices
- Lourdes Active Shooter Planning Considerations Presentation
- MVHS Active Shooter/Mass Casualty Drill Presentation
- MVHS Active Shooter/Mass Casualty Drill AAR
- MVHS Active Shooter/Mass Casualty Drill AAR Summary
- Cayuga Medical Center Active Shooter Post Drill Hotwash Presentation
- Cayuga Medical Center Active Shooter Post Drill Leadership Presentation
- Cayuga Medical Center Active Shooter Drill Tools