More than 200 Caregivers at Ashtabula County Medical Center received ALICE training to ensure the safety of patients and fellow Caregivers if there is ever an active shooter in the facility.
“We chose the ALICE program because it is being used at Cleveland Clinic and it is the same training that teachers and students are receiving locally,” said ACMC Vice President of Quality and Operations Lew Hutchison. Security is one of Hutchison’s areas of responsibility at the hospital.
The recent ALICE training sessions were hosted by ACMC’s Security Department, and were led by Cleveland Clinic’s Emergency Management Department and Cleveland Clinic Police Department in conjunction with Ashtabula City Police.
ALICE stands for Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Escape (or Evacuate).
It promotes a proactive rather than reactive approach to dealing with an active shooter. The training is designed to teach people to get over their initial fight-or-flight response so they can evaluate their options and choices and make the best decision for their safety and the safety of those around them.
Hutchison said a benefit of training ACMC Caregivers in ALICE is the consistency that will exist between the hospital and local schools.
“Our Caregivers who have children in school will be able to speak the same safety language with their kids at home. It will reinforce the concepts of ALICE training throughout our communities,” he said.
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