Jamaica Hospital and Flushing Hospital Medical Center have created an Active Shooter training program in response to recent public shooting events that have occurred around the country. The tragedy that unfolded at Bronx Lebanon Hospital hit closest to home and prompted the hospitals’ Emergency Management and Security Departments to implement the program which had been in the works for several months.
The program teaches employees what to do in the event there is an active shooter on campus. The overall goal is to keep patients, staff and visitors safe.
The three main points that the course teaches in case of an active shooter situation are:
- Run
- Have an escape route and plan in mind
- Leave your belongings behind
- Keep your hands visible when law enforcement approaches
- Hide
- Hide in an area that is out of the shooter’s view
- Block entry to your hiding place and lock the doors
- Completely silence your cell phone and/or pager
- Defend
- As a last resort and only when your life is in imminent danger
- To attempt to incapacitate the shooter
- Act with physical aggression and throw items at an active shooter
The classes are taught by prehospital care instructors and security personnel with law enforcement backgrounds. The first leg of the training was offered between July 25th and August 11th, over 1000 employees were trained at Jamaica Hospital and over 500 at Flushing Hospital.
Safety is always a top priority at the MediSys Health Network. Implementing the Active Shooter training program and other safety initiatives helps us to create and maintain a safe environment for our patients, visitors and staff. We thank everyone for their participation and doing their part in making Jamaica and Flushing Hospital safe.