A 'victim' of Wednesday's active shooter drill is brought into the emergency department at Southern Vermont Medical Center.
BENNINGTON, Vt. — Patients and families expect to find safety and security in a hospital. It's a place of healing, after all.
But what if someone fractures the very well-being of a health center, intent on doing harm?
That was the ripped-from-the-headlines scenario at Southwestern Vermont Medical Center on a rainy Wednesday morning.
The two-part emergency drill was the first time the medical center had performed a "Code Silver," or active shooter situation.
Staff from Southwestern Vermont Health Care were joined by members of the Bennington Police Department and Bennington Rescue Squad, along with about 20 "bloody" volunteers from Southern Vermont College.
"All and all it was very successful and we're very proud of our employees and our partners and very appreciative of Southern Vermont College," said Leslie Keefe, vice president of corporate development, at a briefing following the drill.
The "shooter," a portrayed by a local police officer, had made his way into the Medical Office Building on the SVMC campus.
"In the scenario, he was a family member who was upset over the situation that had occurred with a loved one," said Ray Smith, the hospital's communications director. "In real life, you never know what could create that scenario."
The drill began as the Code Silver at the Medical Office Building, then switched to Code Yellow, or mass casualty, shifting to the Emergency Department. Keefe said the hospital had done "numerous drills" in the past, including mass casualty, as part of its ongoing safety structure.
Health care officials worked with an outside emergency response team to first plan out and then critique the drills to help develop or change procedures. The entire morning was documented, including the "shooter's" viewpoint through a GoPro camera, for further review and future training.
"They helped us work on policy, procedures, since this is the first time we've ever done a drill like this," said Smith.
The planning included development of an incident command, with a member of the Police Department, usually the chief, as incident commander of the situation who is paired with an IC for the health-care system. In this case, the SVHC was represented by Keefe, who was that day's "administrator on call."
The incident team was also filled out by representatives from different areas, she said. "There are representatives on incident command for every sector of our health system."
Smith described the drill as being "fluid" in that certain circumstances were inserted during the process, such as a call from the governor or attorney general looking for an update.
Despite the presence of numerous "victims," officers and other responders, the hospital's daily operation wasn't disturbed, said Smith.
Patients and staff entering the Medical Office Building were informed of the drill through signage and handouts, and some were escorted to their destinations. The building hosts a number of practices, as well as general surgery, cardiology, OB-GYN, and express care.
Those offices not participating in the exercise were marked as such so the "shooter" knew not to enter them.
Keefe said one of the issues in the post-drill review was the need for better procedures on internal communications and integrating advances in communications technology. "We can always get better at that," she said.
But when it comes to Code Silver, the hospital definitely gets a gold star. The experienced emergency response team, which also works with SVHC's partner Dartmouth-Hitchcock, was complimentary of Southern Vermont Medical's smooth work, said Keefe.
"They reported this morning that our emergency department was the best drill they've ever witnessed," she said. "The response, the care, the reaction, the preparedness ... so that was great news."
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A 'victim' of Wednesday's active shooter drill is brought into the emergency department at Southern Vermont Medical Center.
