Sage Rehabilitation Hospital is one of a growing number of workplaces taking part in active shooter training, Business Report details in a new feature from the current issue.
Sparked by the alarming rate of mass shootings in recent years, the trainings are becoming more common, especially at schools and health care facilities.
Interest in such trainings also is growing among businesses, albeit at a slower rate. No employer wants to acknowledge that a mass shooting could happen in their workplace.
But an FBI report on active shooters from 2000 to 2013 revealed that more of these events happened in a business than anywhere else, even compared to educational environments, which hold the No. 2 spot.
In one exercise, Sage Rehabilitation’s Scott McClelland rounded the corner of the break room with his weapon—a Nerf gun—drawn. His employees launched a counterattack, as they had been trained.
“Active shooter in the cafeteria!” one yelled. Staff members hurled red foam balls at their boss to disorient him, and then they swarmed McClelland for the take down.
The staff were preparing to respond—and survive—a potential active shooter situation. They ran through a number of scenarios, learning how to barricade doors, evacuate and fight back.
“It was nerve-racking,” says Richida Bowie, a social worker who took part in the exercise. “Even though we knew what to expect, it’s still scary to think this could happen.”
LCTA Workers’ Comp in Baton Rouge began offering the trainings in 2017 to policyholders, like Sage Rehabilitation, throughout the state.
McClelland, an administrator at Sage Rehabilitation, says he asked LCTA to conduct the training because, as a health care clinic dealing with drugs and family dynamics, it could be a target.
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