UTPD, UToledo Health to Host Active Shooter Drill Sept. 11

UTPD, UToledo Health to Host Active Shooter Drill Sept. 11

The University of Toledo will hold training exercises Thursday to practice the University's response to both an active shooter and an influx of severely wounded patients at the University of Toledo Medical Center.

The active shooter drill is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. inside the Jacobs Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center and will include personnel from the UToledo Police Department, the University of Toledo Medical Center Emergency Department and Health Science Campus Security.

A mass casualty exercise for Emergency Department staff at UTMC will follow the active shooter drill.

"Providing a safe environment for our students, employees, patients and guests is our top priority, and it's a responsibility we take very seriously," said Rodney Theis, associate vice president of public safety and chief of the UToledo Police Department. "Consistent, realistic training prepares our officers to respond quickly and effectively to protect our campus community in the event of an emergency."

Thursday's exercises also will meet the University's emergency response requirements under the Clery Act and UTMC's mass casualty drill requirement for Joint Commission accreditation.

Signs will be posted around the exercise area alerting the public of the drill. In the event of a real emergency, the public address and UT Alert systems would be activated to inform the campus community that a dangerous situation is occurring and to stay clear.

The University regularly conducts tabletop drills and full-scale exercises to prepare for a variety of emergency situations on campus.

During the last 12 months, UTMC has taken a number of steps to enhance hospital security, which include forming a new workplace violence committee, creating a new visitor management system, restricting entry points to badge-only access and installing additional CCTV cameras paid for through a state grant.

"We want our employees to know that we are committed to their safety and the safety of their patients," said Kurt Kless, UTMC's chief nursing officer. "We are always working to strengthen our support of frontline staff, our relationship with UTPD and our procedures that improve our security."

In addition to testing the police response, Thursday's exercise also will allow UTMC employees to practice their "run, hide, fight" training, which directs individuals confronted with an active shooter situation to run to safety if they can, hide if escape isn't possible and, as a last resort, fight back.

The UToledo Police Department will offer training to drill participants ahead of the exercise. Other groups on campus can request an in-person training from the police department via email. The University also offers the run, hide, fight training via the Safety and Health Training Test Bank, accessible through myUT.

To learn what to do in the event of an emergency and for more information on the University's emergency preparedness plans and procedures, visit emergency.utoledo.edu.