Active Shooter… WHERE?!
As nurses, we have been told for some time that healthcare workers and nurses in particular are at risk for workplace violence including gun violence.1 We may have nervously watched our employer’s active shooter video clips, or we may have reviewed workplace violence policies and updated our department’s procedures, or perhaps even participated in or conducted active shooter safety drills on our units.
Even if all this generates apprehension at some level, most of us are now quite good at sliding ‘active shooter’ in with other safety issues at work that we’ve dealt with since nursing school– like ‘Standard Precautions,’ fire safety’s ‘PASS’, and others.
But! What many of us may not have prepared for, psychologically or otherwise, is the possibility of some Sabbath morning an armed individual to come striding through the church foyer, burst into the sanctuary, and open fire!
Disturbingly, two recent incidents underscore the changing times we find ourselves in:
Collegedale SDA Church Evacuated
and
Shooting at an SDA Campmeeting
These events are highly relevant to all Faith Community Nurses (FCNs) as gun violence is not only a safety issue but also a health issue affecting both the safety and health, of our congregations.2
But… what can we do?
What do we do?
Is any of this even preventable?
It is likely beyond the scope of most FCNs to directly train church members in their response to shooting intruders. However, organizing volunteers and procuring expert-led, evidence-based training for members IS within the scope of a FCN.
Volunteer Church Safety Officer
A good first step is to work with your pastor or nominating committee to designate someone from the congregation to be your church’s “safety officer.” Even this first step, however, warrants vigilance! For example, for the last five years or so, our church building maintenance and safety officer roles were filled by the same person. This past July, when new officers took up their positions, it was suddenly discovered that we no longer had a safety officer, as the new building maintenance person had accepted only the maintenance role.
Volunteer Church Safety Committee
Once you have a safety officer in place, a reasonable next step is to set up a safety committee.
The safety committee is comprised of church members able to assume the following roles:
Administrative, Communication, Medical, and Security.
Examples could be members with law enforcement background, medical training, the pastor, the church safety officer, you as a FCN, building maintenance, and mental health support.
(Depending on the skillset of the members of this safety committee, these members may also double as your church’s Emergency/Crisis Response Team.)
The activities of the safety committee should include periodic but regular meetings with decisions and actions documented. An early action plan may include meeting with local first responders, who may be able to help with what training is available in your area, when, who should attend, etc.
Training Possibilities
Our church was able to host an ALICE training and our pastor and safety officer were trained for free. (ALICE = Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) https://www.alicetraining.com/our-program/alice-training/
Adventist Risk Management (ARM) has several resources on their website that are helpful.
Here’s one in particular: How to conduct an active shooter drill — https://adventistrisk.org/en-US/search-results?searchText=Active%20shooter
I found this online course by the CDC valuable: CDC and NIOSH: Online Workplace Violence Prevention Course for Nurses https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2013-155/default.html
It’s free, plus nurses can get 3.0 contact hours of continuing education.
Additionally, please mark your calendars for September 24, as the next AAFCN webinar will host Officer Karl Burnett who will be presenting a talk regarding “Emergency Safety Planning & Active Shooter Awareness”.
After receiving training, ensure periodic safety drills are conducted for church leadership and selected members. These should be documented.
Prevention
Both ARM and ALICE give good direction for how to prepare, how to respond, and how to hopefully prevent an active shooter scenario at your church. Your church safety committee may also oversee ongoing education and awareness. Church staff and especially greeters should be trained to recognize signs of potential trouble—is the person agitated, intoxicated, aggressive, angry? Deacons should be trained in perimeter walks and window/door/lock awareness. All should be educated to note anything out of the ordinary. Guidelines may be created regarding how to approach a possibly troubled person, who to alert, when to deny access, when and how to get help.
Whew!
All this can seem a bit overwhelming. But we are not alone as we try to figure this out.
We may take comfort and courage when we read and meditate on Isaiah 48:17 NKJV:
“Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit,
Who leads you by the way you should go.”
We have divine guidance leading the way! Jesus warned us tragic times would come. He also promised “…I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
Let’s pray for our churches, pastors, safety officers and committees. Let’s pray for each other, the Faith Community Nurses, that we will all be led by and trusting of HIM, our ‘Captain of the Hosts’, as we continue to wrestle with the topic of active shooter… in our churches.
References
1 CDC/NIOSH. Violence. Occupational Hazards in Hospitals. 2002.
2 American Nurses Association (ANA) “The Role of Nurses in Promoting gun Safety and Preventing Violence” Dialogue Forum Topic #2, Friday, June 16, 2023 p. 1
By Ginnie Kim, RN, MSN
Sponsored by
