Priorities Of Healthcare Administrators During A Crisis At A Facility.
Priorities Of Healthcare Administrators During A Crisis At A Facility.
Incidences of active shooters in healthcare organization occur more frequently in today’s healthcare settings and healthcare administrator require the knowledge to efficiently address them. Priorities Of Healthcare Administrators During A Crisis At A Facility.Perfect examples of active shooter incidents where other healthcare providers were also held hostage include: the Georgia 2015 incident where a male was angry at an emergency
department when staff took too long to attend to his girlfriend, the man pulled a gun on security
officers, in 2015 in California, a nurse was shot at in a mental health facility (Calhoun & Weston,
2013). Hospital are often considered to be soft targets since close to 95% of staff rarely anticipate violent scenarios. Priorities Of Healthcare Administrators During A Crisis At A Facility.
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The best approach in such a case should start with activation of the hospital’s emergency response team and the incident command system. The response team should be informed and establish ways of securing other healthcare providers and patients to safe environments within
the hospital (Calhoun & Weston, 2013). They can hide or lock themselves in places where the active shooter is less likely to find them and probably lock or block the door with heavy
furniture. However, the hiding place should not restrict movement options and should provide additional protection in case shots are fired.
Patients and healthcare staff should be warned against entering the premises of the active shooter as well as moving the patient who was shot dead. Everyone should be asked to silence their cell phones and remain silent so that the shooter does not access the hiding locations and positions (Calhoun & Weston, 2013). In the process, it would be able to identify the exact
number of patients and healthcare staff who are safe and those directly implicated in the incident.
Besides, this would promote the ability of healthcare providers to continue providing medical services to patients in environments that are safer.The hospital’s emergency response team should communicate liaise and communicate to
the nearest law enforcement agency through 911 and ask for assistance. In this call, the lead on the hospital’s emergency response team should: mention the exact name of the hospital and
location where the incident has taken place, the current situation and the number and location of patients and healthcare staff taken to safety (Calhoun & Weston, 2013). Additional information
should include: the exact location of the shooter and healthcare staff held hostage within the premise, the name of the healthcare staff held hostage and the name and location of the patient who was shot dead within the premise. Until when help arrives from law enforcement agencies, everyone else should patient and urged to remain silent.
According to Coombs, the guideline for initial crisis response focuses on three points: be quick, be accurate and be consistent. Priorities Of Healthcare Administrators During A Crisis At A Facility.
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Quickness and accuracy play an important role in public safety, because slow or inaccurate responses can increase the risk of injuries and possibly deaths. Quick actions can also prevent further damage and protect reputations by showing that the organization is in control of the situation. The philosophy of speaking with one voice in a crisis is an effective way to maintain accuracy. As the news media are drawn to crises and can reach a wide array of public quickly, it is logical that media relations is a key part of crisis response. Crisis managers should also express concern/sympathy for any victims of the crisis. Expressions of concern are expected by stakeholders and recommended by crisis experts, but are not admissions of guilt. Organizations did experience less reputational damage when an expression of concern is offered verses a response lacking an expression of concern. Priorities Of Healthcare Administrators During A Crisis At A Facility.
Coombs summarizes Best Practices for Initial Crisis Response below:
- Be quick and try to have initial response within the first hour.
- Be accurate by carefully checking all facts.
- Be consistent by keeping spokespeople informed of crisis events and key message points.
- Make public safety the number one priority.
- Use all of the available communication channels including the internet, intranet, and mass notification systems.
- Provide some expression of concern/sympathy for victims
- Remember to include employees in the initial response. Priorities Of Healthcare Administrators During A Crisis At A Facility.
- Be ready to provide stress and trauma counseling to victims of the crisis and their families, including employees.
References
Calhoun, F. S., & Weston, S. W. (2013). Contemporary threat management: A practical guide
for identifying, assessing, and managing individuals of violent intent. San Diego, Calif:
Specialized Training Services. Priorities Of Healthcare Administrators During A Crisis At A Facility.