By Haley Mitchell-Godwin

Under the direction of Markus Caldwell, EOC Director at Beacon Behavioral Hospital in Luverne; Beacon employees; Crenshaw Community Hospital staff; Brantley and Luverne rescue squads; Crenshaw County Sheriff’s Department, Crenshaw County Emergency Management Department and the Luverne Police Department participated in a full-scale active shooter drill Dec. 1.

The exercise began at 10 a.m. inside Beacon Behavioral Hospital and ended next door at Crenshaw Community Hospital.

The active shooter scenario was designed to gauge response to a possible real-life situation, Caldwell said.

“I wanted this exercise to be intense and as authentic as possible so we could really pinpoint our strengths and weaknesses and be prepared if we ever have a real-life situation like this,” Caldwell said. “The HOSA students were great, and our staff did a great job. We had observers posted throughout the facility. The information they gathered helped us to see what we need to do differently to make sure not only the children are safe, but our staff as well. We started right away on developing and refining our procedures and we’ve also celebrated our strengths.”

The “shooter,” played by Cedric Parks, assistant maintenance supervisor at Beacon, entered the building demanding he see his daughter. When his wishes were not immediately granted, he threatened the staff before firing his prop gun.

The shrieks from Crenshaw County HOSA members portraying shooting victims, looks on the faces of the civil service participants, and the convincing moulage created by Nolleigh Reaves, HOSA member and senior at Highland Home School, created a scene difficult to distinguish from reality.

Amy Johnson, clinical services director at Beacon, could be heard continually offering reassurance to the “scared” and “injured” pediatric patients.

Amy Johnson, clinical services director at Beacon, could be heard continually offering reassurance to the “scared” and “injured” pediatric patients.

“This form of training is critical in order for us to be prepared and confident in our actions in the event of an actual crisis,” Johnson said. “The main goal of our staff is to protect patients and then ourselves. We also want to limit patient exposure to trauma. I was able to get some good practice regarding hyperventilating and self-harm prevention methods thanks to the very convincing roles played by the HOSA students.”

“Injured” students were transported to the emergency room via ambulance where doctors and nurses could be seen in realistic action. The needs of the shooting victims which included administration of fluids and medications, CT scans, surgeries, arrangements for life flight, and more, were authentically communicated amongst hospital staff.
According to Lisa Bond, ER manager, the drill increased the readiness of CCH employees.

Brantley and Luverne Rescue squads worked together, communicating quickly and effectively. Pictured in stretcher is Campbell Hawthorne, HOSA member and Brantley High School senior.

“With the way of today’s world, we don’t know what is going to come into the ER and I want my staff to be ready to think on their feet,” Bond said. “This kind of scenario helps us to figure out if there is anything we need to do to make the hospital even safer.”

Crenshaw County Sheriff Terry Mears was present during the exercise and said that Beacon and CCH have good plans in place for handling these types of situations.

“The simulation went well, and all the involved entities have their ducks in a row regarding their response to something like this,” Mears said. “We are living in a much different world than we were 40, 30, or even 10 years ago and we must remember that the world is ever-changing. The only way to be better prepared and to develop best practices is to do drills of this nature.”

Charlie McVay, HOSA member and senior at Highland Home School, plans to go into nursing after high school and said that participating in the mock scenario was a valuable experience.

“Being involved gave me a great view of things I’ve not been able to see much of due to HOSA members not being able to go into the hospital because of COVID,” McVay said. “I could feel the adrenaline, and it was very hard to differentiate between it just being a simulation and something you might possibly face.”

The active shooter scenario was designed to gauge response to a possible real-life situation, according to Markus Caldwell, EOC Director at Beacon Behavioral Hospital in Luverne.

“I wanted this exercise to be intense and as authentic as possible so we could really pinpoint our strengths and weaknesses and be prepared if we ever have a real-life situation like this,” Caldwell said. “The HOSA students were great, and our staff did a great job. We had observers posted throughout the facility. The information they gathered helped us to see what we need to do differently to make sure not only the children are safe, but our staff as well. We started right away on developing and refining our procedures and we’ve also celebrated our strengths.”

Training simulations of this nature present situations Crenshaw County Emergency Management Agency Director Elliot Jones said vested parties should be ready to face should they ever happen.

“With a substantial increase in active shooter situations over recent years, it is imperative that we perform these types of exercises to better prepare for an actual incident,” Jones said. “Even though we are a small community, we are not immune from the devastating violence we hear about on the news.

“I applaud these agencies for stepping forward and asking for assistance in creating this type of training. The Crenshaw County Emergency Management Agency will always be at the disposal of any business or agency that would like to practice or better prepare for any type of emergency situation.”