Seven strategies to reduce risk of an active shooter

The American Society for Healthcare Engineering hosted a webchat earlier this week to share some of the field’s best practices in responding to an active shooter within the hospital. Kevin Tuohey, board president-elect of the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS) was one of the experts featured in the webchat, and he explains that hospitals cannot think of themselves as exempt from such scenario planning.

“While hospitals have always been looked at as places of refuge, as places that were really safe, I think in the last 10 years that’s changed, and I think that they are no longer exempt,” says Tuohey, who is also executive director of research compliance at Boston University. 

As part of the webinar, which is available to view on demand, Tuohey and other IAHSS experts offered seven steps that hospital leaders can take to better prepare their institutions for an active shooter, such as assessing risks and vulnerabilities, planning mock drill exercises and collaborating with outside law enforcement.

Visit our sister magazine, Hospitals & Health Networks, to learn more about these and other strategies hospitals can use to mitigate the risk of active-shooter episodes. Also, check out the 2016 Hospital Security Survey to gain insight into what hospitals are doing to reduce violence in their facilities.