Local Agencies Hold Active Shooter Exercise at HSHS St. John’s Hospital

HSHS St. John’s Hospital, the Springfield Police Department and the Springfield Fire Department held an active shooter exercise Saturday on the campus of St. John’s Hospital. The exercise provided the opportunity to train hospital staff, law enforcement and other agencies should an active shooter event happen in our facility.

This exercise provided participants with an opportunity to assess capabilities, plans, policies and procedures.

“We hope and pray that an event like this never happens at our hospital, but we want to be as prepared as we can be if it does,” said Brian Churchill, EMS and emergency management facilitator at St. John’s Hospital.  “We are very grateful to the law enforcement and fire department personnel, as well as St. John’s colleagues for participating today and learning best practices that will keep our patients, colleagues and visitors safe if this type of event ever happens on our campus.

The exercise involved many local agencies.

“Today, we practiced three scenarios along with a fourth full-field training exercise that involved St. John’s Hospital, Springfield Police Department and the Springfield Fire Department,” said Brandon Golden, patrol officer at the Springfield Police Department. “We appreciate our partnership with St. John’s Hospital and look forward to working with them on other exercises in the future.”

Each scenario was different and provided unique challenges for the participants involved.

“There are things that went very smoothly, but there are always areas and opportunities for improvement,” said Jerry Pettit, battalion chief of Springfield Fire Department. “We will continue to improve our strategies and protocols to be able to perform to the best of our ability if this situation ever arises.”