Code White: Naval Health Clinic Quantico conducted active shooter drill Monday

Photo By Cpl. Antwaun Jefferson | The Naval Health Clinic Quantico conducted a Code White scenario during an active shooter drill in the clinic on Monday. The drill lasted 4 minutes and 27 seconds, and gave the staff and leadership aboard the base a more in-depth look at the efficiency of their safety protocols.  

QUANTICO, VA, UNITED STATES

12.10.2012

Story by Lance Cpl. Antwaun Jefferson 

Marine Corps Base Quantico

QUANTICO, Va. - The staff at the Naval Health Clinic Quantico exercised a Code White active shooter drill Monday afternoon.

The primary purpose of the drill was to observe and train staff to respond to pressure and to assist patients in this emergency setting.

“I think this drill went pretty well,” said Orvel Ronk, anti-terrorism program manager. “I think that the speed is what we have to enforce to the clinic’s staff. The shooter will be moving quicker than what happened today. This means the ordeal will start and end quickly, so they will have to react to the situation just as quickly, if not quicker.”

Time, effort and research went into the planning process to make the drill run smoothly.

There were more than 10 training briefs with staff at main side, Officer Candidates School and The Basic School clinics in the fall to prepare for this drill. The drill required coordination with many different sections on base such as, the Provost Marshal’s Office and Mission Assurance Branch.

The clinic’s leadership stated that part of the planning included what to do in case of an actual emergency during the drill. The scenario would have been immediately shut down and the proper procedures for the actual emergency would have been put into place.

Even though it was a drill, the patients and staff took it very seriously and, within seconds of the scenario starting, the halls, lobbies and waiting rooms were empty. Some of the staff and patients actually barricaded the doors in the rooms they were in with file cabinets, as Ronk recommended during the preparation for the drill.

The drill lasted 4 minutes and 27 seconds. There were more than 50 staff personnel and patients in the building. There were eight simulated deaths, half being in the lobby of the clinic and the others on the second floor inside the dental spaces.

Subject matter experts on active shooter scenarios and select clinic staff observed the scenario as it played out. Afterward, they convened for an after-action brief.

“Receiving feedback from subject matter experts is always beneficial,” said Capt. Kathy Becker, NHCQ commanding officer. “You will always have your own impressions of what you think is important, but other individuals, with a fresh set of eyes, who actually do this for a living, are going to come up with important points and advice you wouldn’t even think of.”

Becker said one of the drawbacks of the drill was staff knowing that the drill was going to happen that day. With just a couple of hours left before the clinic’s closing, it was easy to infer that the drill was going to happen soon.

Armed with this knowledge, much of the staff was on guard, anxious even, to get things started, as they already mapped out in their heads their plan of attack to get themselves and the patients to safety.

“Overall, I’m very pleased with the exercise for what we got,” Becker said. “I think it is a great starting point and we learned a lot in what to look for in our other clinics as well.”

The drill gave the staff and leadership aboard the base deeper insight into the risks that may have been overlooked before.

Additional after-action briefs will be held at the clinic, and further safety protocols will be put into place to ensure the safety of the clinic’s staff and patients in the future.

• Date Taken: 12.10.2012
• Date Posted: 12.16.2012 19:47
• Story ID: 99381
• Location: QUANTICO, VA, US