Being Prepared Ahead of Time Might Just Save Lives

By Brenda Thornburg

The Active Shooter Scenario has become all too common in the news and in our lives. It’s hard to think of ourselves as ever being a part of one of these horrendous events, but we are in fact vulnerable. At church, grocery stores, concerts, and yes, even in our workplaces. We’ve all experienced the wrath of a disgruntled patient. How do we know whether a rude, arrogant patient or family member is going to morph into a dangerous situation?

Unfortunately, active shootings in the dental office setting have become a sad part of our reality. Two dentists were shot and killed in Texas; a Utah woman threatened to kill an entire office due to a rescheduled appointment; another happened in Tennessee, where a shooter, (a school bus driver) shot and killed his wife, who worked at a dental practice. 1, 2. One incident is enough to cause concern, and certainly multiple shootings cause us to want to be prepared.

Let’s take a moment to focus on the OUTs.

RUN (Get OUT) if you can. Take your patient(s) with you. Take anyone near you and get out of that danger zone as quickly as you can. The faster you move and more sporadic your movements, the better your survivability. 

HIDE (Hide OUT) is the next best option. Find a place to hide and make the room look like an unoccupied area. Turn off the lights, close the blinds, SILENCE your cell phones, and remain still in your secure hiding place. Stay put until a uniformed police responder lets you know the threat is over. Remember… intruders will pretend to be police responders to trick you. Stay put and stay safe.

(Keep OUT) is a bit more challenging in a dental office setting. We don’t often have doors on individual rooms, let alone have locks on doors.  Is there a supply closet, bathroom, or office with locks on doors? Lock the door if you can, but you may have to barricade an opening using furniture, office equipment or anything else available. Create a wall of obstruction.

FIGHT (Take OUT) the shooter. Use any available “weapons of opportunity” to fight the shooter and get away. Hit them with a chair, laptop, fire extinguisher, hot coffee, boxes, x-ray tube… anything to survive.

Research panic buttons and alarm systems to notify law enforcement that an active shooter is on site. Lastly, part of your plan should include help with the recovery process. Gather a list of resources for the team, patients, and facility.  Survival includes fear, shock, anxiety, denial, and survivors’ remorse. Prepare a list of mental health services ahead of time that can help employees, patients, and families with the trauma. Recovery Firm Specialists can provide clean up and restorations of the facility. It is suggested to do your research ahead of time and have a contact for this in your Active Shooter plan. Survival is often the result of training. Have your plan of action and train on these scenarios just as you would any other office procedure.

References

1. Utah Woman Threatened to Shoot Everyone in Dentist’s Office over Rescheduled Appointment: Police. (2019, August 31). Tribune Media Wire Pix 11. https://pix11.com/news/police-utah-woman-made-shooting-threat-against-dentists-office-over-rescheduled-appointment/
2. Suspect in Tennessee Dental Office Shooting Identified as School Bus Driver. (2019, February 14). WATE ABC 6. https://www.wate.com/news/tennessee/suspect-in-tennessee-dental-office-shooting-identified-as-school-bus-driver/
3. Steven S. Wilder, BA, CHSP, STS, Senior Consultant & COO of Sorensen, Wilder & Associates for an interactive discussion on “Training Your Staff: The Active Shooter in a Healthcare Facility.” A healthcare facility is one of the easiest “soft targets” the active shooter can find…countless open doors on the perimeter make it an easy target. Staff must be prepared to recognize the event, respond properly, and recover afterwards. And, in the COVID-19 world, that risk may move to an even higher level. https://youtu.be/K8Qxm-kdeQs