Active shooter response training at assisted living facility.

More harm inside these facilities than from outsiders.

The facility I'm thinking of is a Jewish one. It has an entrance lobby where the desk is staffed by two people, who buzz you through the sturdy inner doors into the building proper. Residents coming out use a code, or can ring the buzzer to be let out.

It is all the same true, of course, that you can't protect everything against everything. But the element of surprise only works once for each strategy (copy cats don't get far), and you can stop places from being soft targets. Anyone trying to ram-raid my kids' kindergarten on a Monday morning or Wednesday lunchtime during the first Gulf War, for example, would have had to get past me in my hi-viz tabard - bet that really scared them off! #hardlass

There is an internet video somewhere of a satirist dressed up in full desert Arab gear, going to various places and throwing his (empty) rucksack at passers by, to highly comic effect. I laughed a lot, but I dare say I wouldn't have done if he'd sat next to me on the Tube.

Domestic violence spilling over into the Nursing homes/assisted living facilities concerns me more than random type incidents. It's quite common in our state (NC). IMO, that makes the places more vulnerable.

I would think the first start would be the scanners used by airports and government offices to detect metal. However, those require someone to monitor the scanners to ensure that the metals (key chains, etc.) removed are in fact just that - not disguises for weapons, or parts of weapons.

CWillie, I recall hearing about that shooting but don't recall how the guy got past security. Did he just rush through?

Have to admit that when I think about going to anything with a large crowd, the security issue comes to mind.

as much as i resent govt eavesdropping on our electronic communications , i gotta say ; itll make for a safer world . algorithyms have become so effective that they can almost predict if youre about to hurl a beer can at your neighbor .

In 2008, a shooter stormed into a nursing home in NC and killed 8 people. His, wife, a nurse there, was unharmed as she hid in the Memory Care unit. These are normally locked and much safer than the other parts of the facility. I often think about safety concerns, but, I'm not sure how having the entire facility locked securely would go over. My cousin is in a locked unit, but, I still am concerned. Domestic issues among the staff seems to be a particular concern. That's what inspired the NC shooter in 2008. He went to his wife's place of employment for her, but shot senior residents as they lay in their bed for no reason.

CM, all the security on hand couldn't keep a lone wolf gunman from running into the Canadian House of Parliament, and it was only sheer luck that he ran past the doors where caucus was meeting. I can't see any practical defence against these kind of individuals who are willing to martyr themselves for a cause or just for notoriety.

Given that most of the people inside a facility can't run, hide or fight, I'd have thought it would be best to concentrate resources on making sure that no unauthorised or potentially suspect person can get inside to start shooting. Reviewing security at the entrance to the facility, plus screening of employees and anyone else who routinely has access, must be the way to go surely?

In days gone by one would have thought that neither criminal nor even terrorist would fire on a frail, wheelchair-bound elder - if only out of basic self-respect. Given what we've seen globally in just the last twelve months, even that minimal reassurance is gone. This isn't about striking back at oppression, it's about generating maximum horror.

It's so unfortunate that in this society we have to worry about these issues. I don't want to be too political, because a lot of these shootings are from "Lone wolf" shoooters, there are currently terrorist attacks in this country. We definitely need more background checks on immigrants. Our president gave millions to Iran in cash. The state department stated they knew some of that money would go towards terrorism. That's disgraceful. Anyway I hope nothing ever happens to your mom. We need to be vigilant in a society if we observe behaviors in any one individual that could threaten and harm any individual or "soft spot". I listened to news reports that a mom who thought her son was going to harm someone, called the police a few times, but it was dismissed. I feel emotional pain that we live in such a society.

This training is the flavor of the week in all types of workplaces. Made me think twice about how complacent I am at my uneventful office job in an unremarkable suburb.

Did your mother's AL address building security? This is an important part of the equation.

The FBI website talks about " hard decisions" that will have to be made in situations with immobile patients. The goal seems to be to deny the shooter the greatest number of victims, which appears to favor leaving immobile patients. Hoping i am never in a situation like this.

Just remember, these guidelines ONLY apply to an "active shooter" scenario...not a natural disater ( Katrina, say) or fire, where the goal is to evacuate everyone.

The advice is run, hide, fight..,in that order. I have no comment on how they are to care for the patients.

If you go to the FBI website, there is an extensive training guide on active shooter situations in healthcare settings. These are very tough questions.

I might ask an administrator at the facility to review what was covered in the training.