Caregivers at Layton Hospital recently averted a potentially serious situation by using proper safety behaviors and protocols.
Two caregivers noticed a suspicious package in the Layton medical office building at about 8:30 a.m. They notified security, who responded and in turn called in Layton police and the Davis County Bomb Squad. Local authorities quickly arrived at the scene, removed the package, and detonated it offsite as a precaution.
Intermountain safety and security teams assisted law enforcement in sweeping the building to clear any possible threats throughout the rest of the morning. There were some patient cancellations as a result, but most patient care throughout the hospital remained unaffected.
While the package was later determined not to have been a safety threat, caregivers responded appropriately to a Code Yellow alert, followed their departments’ safety checklists, and no one was harmed.
“What could have been a dangerous, and possibly tragic, situation was fully avoided thanks to the awareness of caregivers, the quick and alert response of our safety team, and our partnership with local authorities,” says Tiffany Bears, Layton nurse administrator. “On behalf of everyone at Layton Hospital, thank you to those caregivers, the Layton Police Department, the Davis County Bomb Squad, and all of the other teams both internal and from the community that offered their support and assistance to ensure our safety.”
Tiffany says she was proud of the way caregivers at Layton Hospital responded to this event, but there are still a lot of lessons to be learned. She says debriefing and identifying strengths and weaknesses in any emergency response is a great way to improve our ability to respond to future events.
The response at Layton Hospital followed prescribed safety protocol, according to Craig Allen, director of Safety and Security.
“The response at Layton is a great example of how effective See Something, Say Something, Recognize and Respond, and the chain of response protocol can be when everyone knows what they’re supposed to do,” says Craig.
Caregivers are a key part of keeping everyone safe. Safety and Security caregivers can’t be everywhere at once. Caregivers can help maintain a safe working environment by:
- Being aware and communicating potential safety threats so security can engage before the situation escalates.
- Communicating anything that makes you feel threatened or uneasy to their manager or directly to the Security team.
- Being familiar with your Run-Hide-Fight training and anticipate how you may respond to different situations.
- Reviewing and be familiar with the Recognize and Respond guidelines for your facility so you know how to contact security.
- Planning and practicing responses to safety threats with your team.
- Reaching out to your leader if you want more training in safety and security protocol practices.
Familiarize yourself with your facilities Recognize and Respond Guidelines here.