Active Shooter Preparedness

An active shooter is an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and other populated area. In many cases, active shooters use firearms and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims. Active shooter situations are unpredictable and evolve quickly. Individuals can help prevent and prepare for potential active shooter situations. The resources below provide guidance to physicians, hospitals and employees to prepare and respond to an active shooter situation.

Department of Homeland Security
Active shooter incidents are often unpredictable and evolve quickly. In the midst of the chaos, anyone can play an integral role in mitigating the impacts of an active shooter incident. The Department of Homeland Security DHS aims to enhance preparedness through a "whole community" approach by providing products, tools, and resources to help you prepare for and respond to an active shooter incident.

Information for Healthcare Professionals and Facilities

• Planning for Active Shooter Incidents
  The California Hospital Association’s Hospital Preparedness Program provides numerous resources and links on an active shooter incident including organizational aspects of planning and training to increase survivability of patients, visitors and staff in an active shooter event. 
  • Active Shooter Planning and Response in a Healthcare Setting (.pdf, 99 pages)
  • Incorporating Active Shooter Incident Planning Into Health Care Facility Emergency Operations Plans (.pdf, 33 pages)
• Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers
  This publication (.pdf, 60 pages) updates OSHA’s 1996 and 2004 voluntary guidelines for preventing workplace violence for healthcare and social service workers. OSHA’s violence prevention guidelines provide recommendations for developing policies and procedures to eliminate or reduce workplace violence in a range of healthcare and social service settings.
  • The Joint Commission Sentinel Event Alert Issue 45, “Preventing violence in the health care setting” (.pdf, 3 pages)
  • Emergency Department Violence Fact Sheet
    
• Active Shooter Drill Materials
  The Hospital Association of Southern California provides documents to plan an active shooter drill, including checklists, industry guidelines, templates, scenarios, safety rules, participant releases and staffing suggestions.
  
  • The Joint Commission Quick Safety - Issue 4, “Preparing for active shooter situations” (.pdf, 2 pages)
• Health and Medical Response to Active Shooter and Bombing Events
  This 19-page document examines some of the issues and potential best practices during responses to terrorist incidents, including mass shootings and bombings, and serves as a prompt for responders and planners to consider areas where their community could address potential gaps. Preventing these types of events is the optimal goal, but when an event occurs, a rapid and effective response coordinated between agencies is required to optimize patient outcomes.
  • View the information here

Courses

• IS-106.15: Workplace Violence Awareness Training 2015
• IS-906: Workplace Security Awareness, FEMA Emergency Management Institute
• IS-907: Active Shooter: What You Can Do
• Workplace Violence Prevention Course for Nurses
  

Videos

• FBI Run, Hide, Fight Video 
  For the Public: Responding to an Active Shooter Crisis Situation - This video dramatizes an active shooter incident in the workplace. Its purpose is to educate the public on how to respond during such an incident.
• Armed! Are you ready- Hospital EP Training
  

Additional Resources

• FBI Active Shooter Incidents 
  
• Active Shooter Pocket Card
• If You See Something, Say Something™
  If You See Something, Say Something™ is a national campaign that raises public awareness of the indicators of terrorism and terrorism-related crime, as well as the importance of reporting suspicious activity to state and local law enforcement.
• Stop the Bleed
  Stop the Bleed is a nationwide campaign to empower individuals to act quickly and save lives. No matter how rapid the arrival of professional emergency responders, bystanders will always be first on the scene.  A person who is bleeding can die from blood loss within five minutes, therefore it is important to quickly stop the blood loss. 
  

Disclaimer:  This is a listing of active shooter information and resources available for physicians, healthcare facilities and the public. This listing is not inclusive of all available information and MMS is not endorsing or recommending a specific resource.