Preparing for the Unthinkable

"Cop assisted suicide" - I have never heard that expression before and now I have heard it twice in one week. The first time I heard it was when the New Brunswick Detective was preparing us for an active shooter drill. Kevin Sullivan partnered with the New Brunswick Police Department to perform a simulation of a person entering our hospital that was armed and was shooting randomly. The police said the profile on these individuals is that they are looking to be killed in the middle of such a horrific act of them randomly killing people – hence the table “cop assisted suicide.” We took the drill very seriously and the staff did a magnificent job protecting our children and each other. When the code was called, staff responded very quickly and there was absolute silence on the floor as we waited for the code clear to be called. The police warned us that it could take hours for an all clear to be called because they would have to not only track down and neutralize the shooter, but also make sure there was only one shooter and not a group. As I woke this morning and heard the announcement that the Garden State Plaza was on lock down and they were searching for a shooter, I was immediately taken back to being on the second floor in New Brunswick, gathered in the eerie silence as we were waiting for the code clear to be called. The lock down in the mall began at 9:30 p.m. and by 3 a.m. all mall-goers were still locked inside. In writing this, we now know that the shooter took his own life and that there were no other injuries, while the police said he clearly had several opportunities to injure many more people. As I write this, the emotions I have are many. I am comforted knowing that we successfully completed the drill and we are better prepared than we were the week before. I am disheartened that the only way that this young man saw his way through whatever tortured him, is to cause this kind of panic and to ultimately take his own life. And then lastly my deep sadness over the night of fear and torment the people who were locked down and the families who waited for them must have felt. We must continue to prepare for those situations we pray will never happen. We also need to work to provide treatment for those who find themselves unable to find the words to ease their pain instead of resorting to violent acts of terror. If you feel compelled to share your comments, please do so. Any comments about participating in the drill; any feelings you have after hearing the news of the mall shooting – this blog is meant to be an open dialog and platform for sharing.

Always Prepared

I don't know about you, but I have been tied to my TV watching the weather radar. Truly, I keep hoping that Irene will hang a right and just go out into the ocean and all of this excitement will be for not.

To be honest, I wasn't as interested in the weather before I started working at Children's Specialized. For us when the basics go down and our kids literally live or die based upon electricity, roads being cleared and all the things that some people may just see as a minor inconvenience.

It’s been my experience at CSH, whether it is a snow storm, floods or the one tornado I was part of, that we always rise to the occasion and demonstrate the absolute best in our planning and teamwork.

Kevin Sullivan is our Emergency Management Expert and has done an amazing job with his committee making sure our emergency plans are always where they need to be. You will be getting an email from him today outlining our plans and also offering thoughts for you as well.

Our friends at Children's Hospital of Alabama sent us a list of tips for our personal use that they have refined from their vast experience managing unpredictable weather. It was so very nice for their CEO to send it, that I thought I should share it with you.

Add your own helpful safety tips in the comments below.

Suggestions from Children's Hospital Alabama for your personal homes:
- At least 18 hours prior, set your AC at 55 or 60 so your house cools down and has the ability to stay cooler if the power goes out.
- Put as many containers of water in the freezer as you can. You will be able to use them in the lower part of the fridge as cold packs if power goes out.
- Make sure you have Coleman ($9-10) battery operated camp lanterns (Target, Wal-Mart, etc) and plenty of batteries. They last a long time and are handy for reading!
- Charge your laptop computers, cell phones, etc.
- Make sure you have a battery-operated radio.
- If you have a grill, make sure you have charcoal or propane to use. A good way to cook ...including eggs and pizza!
- Cook as much food as possible in advance so that you only have to reheat and can do that easily on grill.
- If a storm does strike, move to the basement, if you have one.
- If you have gas hot water heaters, showers are still doable!

Good luck to all and please be safe.