Just a drill: Southeast Hospital trains for active-shooter situation

Southeast Hospital security staff practiced putting up barricades in a closed office building on the hospital campus as a part of active-shooter training Wednesday.

Forty-four hospital staff members, including 19 security staff members, participated in the active-shooter drill starting about 9 a.m. They were assisted by three Cape Girardeau County sheriff’s deputies and two Cape Girardeau police officers.

Keith May, director of Southeast Hospital Security, said his staff recently had received classroom instruction to deal with an active-shooter situation, but Wednesday was the first opportunity to put those lessons into practice.

May and sheriff’s Sgt. Sean Adams wanted to practice some of the unpredictability of an active shooter, giving the actor playing the bad guy limited autonomy to veer in different directions in the closed office building at 1708 Lacey St.

Once the actor was inside the building, security staff had options to evacuate patients or staff members or put up barriers to box the shooter into a particular area, May and Adams said. Adams said personnel primarily practiced the latter scenario because of the tight hallways in the building.

“Every situation is going to be unique,” Adams said. “You’re not going to have a magic answer.”

Security staff need to be prepared to engage the shooter if needed, although they are equipped with Tasers, May said. Last week, Cape Girardeau officers responded to the hospital in a minute for an undisclosed incident, but hospital staff should be prepared for a delay, May said.

Hospital staff practiced two scenarios Wednesday: The first was an active shooter who came into the hospital asking for directions, and the second was a domestic dispute in the hospital that involved an armed assailant, May and Adams said.

The second may involve hostages, invoking a different set of directives for staff, Adams said.

Regardless, hospital staff need to properly communicate what’s happening during the event to give law enforcement a chance to plan before they encounter the shooter, Adams said. The training included a hospitalwide alert.

“Time is of the essence,” Adams said.

Adams said an active shooter at the hospital would be as likely as a large-scale natural disaster such as earthquakes or tornadoes.

“It’s slim to none,” Adams said of a chance of an active shooter at a hospital. “We practice for fires and natural disasters, and they’re slim to none, as well.”

bkleine@semissourian.com

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