Grand River Hospital in Rifle is holding an active shooter live exercise, “Shots Fired”on Oct. 22 from 1 p.m. to approximately 4:30 p.m. according to a news release on Oct. 10.

The purpose of the exercise is to provide participants with an opportunity to assess capabilities, plans, policies and procedures in the event of an actual active shooter scenario. It will focus on decision-making, coordination and integration with other jurisdictions and organizations. 

Access to Grand River Hospital shouldn’t be significantly impacted during the exercise and participants may see emergency response vehicles and personnel in the area throughout the exercise. 

The point of the exercise scenario is to test the response of Grand River Hospital staff, local law enforcement and emergency services. 

An active shooter scenario has been set as a perpetrator of an ongoing mass shooting enters Grand River Hospital and begins targeting victims indiscriminately and at a large scale. 

The following agencies and organizations are participating in the exercise:

• Grand River Hospital administration, staff and security
• Northwest Region Healthcare Coalition (NWRHCC)
• Northwest Regional Emergency Medical and Trauma Services Advisory Council (NWRETAC)
• Rifle Police Department
• Garfield County Sheriff’s Office
• Garfield County Emergency Management
• Garfield County Emergency Communications
• Colorado River Fire & Rescue
• Grand Valley Fire Protection District
• CareFlight of the Rockies

Becky Needham, emergency preparedness coordinator for Grand River Health, organized the exercise with assistance from the Grand River Hospital Active Shooter Exercise Planning Committee. 

“We hope we never have to go through an event like this,” Needham said. “Exercises like these are a great way to test our systems, our practices and our procedures and to get a better understanding of operations during an actual crisis. This kind of exercise helps better prepare us and increases our awareness. It is also designed to further develop our relationships with Law Enforcement and our Emergency Service agencies.”

The safety of patients  and staff is a top priority at Grand River Health. Approximately 60 staff members and emergency personnel will be participating alongside Hospital District administration. 

“Drills like these are critical in helping communities prepare their First Responders in case of an emergency,” said Jim Coombs, CEO of Grand River Health. “We all hope a crisis like this never happens here, but it could. Working together in advance in these types of practice scenarios assists us in identifying best practices for the best possible outcome should the unthinkable happen.”

Local law enforcement and emergency services have been instrumental in the design and implementation of the exercise. Scenarios like these give local emergency services experience working their incident command systems and gaining firsthand knowledge of hospital facilities and staff. 

“It is important to run simulations such as this,” said Annick Pruett, Grand River Health administrative director of community relations. “It helps us understand how the hospital works, who the key people are and how we can work together to improve general safety and our emergency response in the case of a crisis. It is a drill we never want to act out in real life, but it is an opportunity to learn and get better as organizations, and as a community.

Should anyone need more information on the exercise, contact Becky Needham by phone at  (970) 665-6229 or by email at bantonelli@grhd.org.