Marble Falls hospital holds active-shooter drill
Several local agencies acted out protocols and procedures in a drill that simulated a violent shooter rampage at the Baylor Scott & White Medical Center in Marble Falls on Nov. 10. Pictured are an unidentified 'victim' Mike Green, a hospital staff member; Marble Falls Area EMS workers Seth Sivells and Stacee Henrichs; and Marble Falls Fire Rescue firefighter Russell Daniel.
CONNIE SWINNEY • STAFF WRITER
MARBLE FALLS — For about two hours, Baylor Scott & White Medical Center staff and area emergency crews found out what it might be like if a violent shooting suspect tried to take over the healthcare facility.
Hospital officials worked with several agencies, including the Marble Falls Police Department and Marble Falls Fire Rescue, to conduct a so-called “active-shooter drill” during the afternoon of Nov. 10 at the facility, 810 Texas 71 West.
Eric Looper, president of Hill Country region for Baylor Scott & White Health, said officials prepared their staff as well as the public for the real-time training event.
“As a hospital, we have to make sure we’re prepared for everything that might come our way. That includes the clinical work that we do every day but also disasters that may happen — a tornado, fire, flood — and what we’re going to practice today,” Looper said. “Unfortunately, we’ve come to a point in our society where we have to practice if we have an active shooter on our campus.”
Participating first responders coordinated their efforts with staff and alerted patients and the public about the event.
“We have gone through an extra effort to let visitors and patients know that we’re going to be doing a drill between these two hours,” Looper said. “We didn’t want to scare anyone with today’s events. We said, ‘Don’t be alarmed. If you see something on Twitter about the SWAT going into the hospital, it’s a drill.”
Crews utilized public dispatch procedures along with government disaster protocols.
“This is actually a community-wide drill, so we pull in our other first responders such as our police departments and our fire departments and our EMS folks. They can get their practice in, and we can all do this together,” he said. “We’re using a standardized response system that is designed by our governmental agencies.
“Everyone is using the same organizational structure, so we don’t invent our own response,” Looper added. “We have a coordinated and detailed response.”
The drill involved utilizing real-time dispatch procedures and other modes of communication with fire, EMS and police agencies.
“The disasters are different, but a lot of times, the response is the same. That’s what we want to get down to be second nature when these things happen,” Looper said.
Facilities are required by state law to conduct such drills at least once a year as a community-wide collaborative event with multiple agencies.
“Today, it’s focused on the hospital and something inside the hospital and the response to that,” he said. “Later this year or next year, we may do something that’s focused out in the community.”
Scenarios could include a response to a plane accident at the Horseshoe Bay airport or a devastating tornado in the heart of Marble Falls.
“The day may come when we have a community-wide disaster where we have to be well-coordinated and communicate to solve that problem,” he said.
connie@thepicayune.com