Active Shooter Training

Lt. Chip Holland

Lieutenant Donald  “Chip” Holland  has been in law enforcement since 1989.  He has been Operational Commander of a Tactical Unit for 20 years and has led multiple tactical operations, executed search warrants, and served high risk arrest warrants. In addition, he has directed a law enforcement Firearms Training Unit.

Lieutenant Holland was a member of the Narcotics Unit for six years and its operation supervisor for three. He has also been active in the local Criminal Investigation Unit. Lieutenant Holland continues to hone his skills through regular training conducted by the FBI, Secret Service, Department of Defense, and Department of Justice as well as various state, local, and private training organizations. These have included advanced instruction in firearms, tactical operations, active shooter training, counter terrorism, personal defense, school violence, explosive devices and dignitary protection. He is a State of Tennessee Certified Firearms Instructor, Department of Commerce and Insurance Instructor, and is recognized as a Specialized Instructor in Firearms and Active Shooter by the State of Tennessee Peace Officers Standards and Training. Lieutenant Holland has also taught active shooter courses at the Tennessee Law Enforcement Training Academy.

Physicians Quality Care OCCMed is fortunate to have an instructor with the practical experience and skills possessed by Lieutenant Holland and we welcome him to the PQC family.

Dr. Melanie Hoppers

Dr. Melanie Hoppers is a practicing physician, board certified by both the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Pediatrics. Dr. Hoppers received her Bachelor of Science degree from Union University and was awarded her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. Since that time her practice has included primary care, urgent care, emergency medicine and occupational medicine. Dr. Hoppers is currently involved in multiple research trials to investigate the efficacy of new drugs before they go to market.

Dr. Hoppers has over 150 hours of tactical medicine training and is certified by the International School of Tactical Medicine whose clients include the FBI, DEA, ATF and many others.  She is qualified to enter a dangerous situation along with a law enforcement tactical team and render emergency aid.

Dr. Hoppers is co-owner of Physicians Quality Care and understands the necessity of providing a safe and secure work environment.

This country’s tragic battle against active shooters unfortunately involves the workplace. In 2016, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the incident of an armed intruder is 30 times more likely than a fire, 60 times more likely than a climactic event and 125 times more likely than a chemical spill.

Yet for many workplaces, it is the incident that employees are the least prepared to handle.

Though OSHA does not have any specific guidelines for active shooter training courses, it has recognized the importance of preparing workers for these types of incidents. The courts and OSHA alike hold employers responsible for preventing workplace violence under the General Duty Clause, which states that employers must maintain a workplace free from recognized hazards causing, or likely to cause, death or serious physical harm to workers.

In 2017, OSHA released a directive to OSHA inspectors to start implementing proper workplace training for violent events.

Employers who have a priority on their employees’ health and safety are taking a proactive approach to the possible threat of an active shooter in their workplace. The first step is to understand OSHA’s general guidelines for a workplace violence incident …

• Employers must have a plan that focuses on the risks most likely to affect their workplace. For example, if you own a retail store that’s open early in the morning or late at night, incidents are more likely to occur in those riskier times of the day, and your training should include safety procedures on how to prevent an incident.
• It’s not enough to establish a plan. You need to get both management and employees in on the plan, offering feedback, and participating in a dialogue, so everyone understands what to do if a workplace violence incident occurs.
• Conduct a work site safety analysis that assesses your facility’s strengths and weaknesses, both physical and procedural. (Physicians Quality Care OCCMed will do this assessment as part of its active shooter training.)
• Train managers and employers on how to recognize the early signs of workplace violence, including the signs of domestic violence that can erupt unexpectedly in the workplace.

For more information on workplace active shooter preparedness, contact Jennifer at jennifer@physiciansqualitycare.com.

One survivor of the recent active shooter incident at Santa Fe High School in Texas told authorities that the active shooter training she received saved her life because she knew what to do.

It’s a story other survivors are echoing as active shooter incidents continue to occur at an increasing number in the United States.

Since Physicians Quality Care OCCMed started offering Active Shooter Seminars earlier this year, instructors Dr. Melanie Hoppers and Lt. Chip Holland have taught the course in all parts of Tennessee and in several states. Companies that have been through the training are praising them.

“The Active Shooter Seminar presented by Dr. Hoppers and Lt. Holland was very well received and attended by our in-house employees,” said Connie McBee, HR/Job Cost Coordinator Manager at H and M Company.

“Their expertise and knowledge was evident, and both did a very thorough job in their presentations.”

The Active Shooter Seminar teaches managers and employees how to react in those critical minutes after someone with a gun enters the workplace and before law enforcement and medical help arrive.

Lt. Holland, a 30-year law enforcement veteran and Operational Commander of a Tactical Unit for 20 of those years, stresses a proactive approach if someone with a gun enters the workplace.

Dr. Hoppers, a board-certified physician who is certified in tactical medicine, gives tourniquet training to stop hemorrhagic bleeding.

Amanda Hite, EHS Manager at Kolpak (Welbilt) said, “I have received very positive feedback about the classes from the plant personnel, responders and managers.”

Dr. Hoppers and Lt. Holland taught several classes over the course of a day at Kolpak to address the needs of different shifts and employee schedules. Their first class was at 4:45 a.m.; their last class was in the evening. “We are available to offer the seminar at whatever time the company needs us to offer it,” said Dr. Hoppers.

“Although it is sad that we need this type of training, we are fortunte to have the team of Dr. Hoppers and Lt. Holland in our community to help educate our employees, as well as help us, as an employer, provide a safer place for our employees to work,” said McBee.

To learn more about our Active Shooter seminars contact Jennifer Carmack at 731.984.8400 or jennifer@physiciansqualitycare.com.

The violence is alarming. Active shooter incidents have been increasing since the FBI first started keeping track of them in 2000. And a high percentage of incidents have occurred where people work.

“Although OSHA requires employers to maintain an emergency response plan (Standard 1910.38), it does not have specific requirements about active shooter incidents or preventing workplace violence,” said Jennifer Carmack, Director of Physicians Quality Care OCCMed. “We can help employers develop a workplace violence prevention and response policy.”

Physicians Quality Care OCCMed is offering active shooter seminars to train managers and other employees in what to do in those critical minutes after someone with a gun enters the workplace and before law enforcement and medical help arrives.

The purpose is twofold: to help companies create a prevention and response plan if someone with a gun enters the workplace and to teach people how to control hemorrhagic bleeding to save the life of someone who has a gunshot wound until the victim receives medical care.

The FBI defines an active shooter incident as when an individual is actively engaged in using firearms to kill or attempt to kill people in a populated area.

The seminars are taught by Lt. Donald “Chip” Holland, a 30-year West Tennessee law enforcement veteran, and Melanie Hoppers, M.D., a Physicians Quality Care physician, who is board certified in pediatrics and internal medicine and who has had extensive training in tactical medicine. Lt. Holland has been a leader for a tactical response team and has taught active shooter training at the Tennessee Law Enforcement Academy.

Each seminar lasts five to six hours and includes a facility walk-through, a written action plan, and practical classroom instruction on what to do in an active shooter incident, both to protect oneself and how best to keep from interfering with law enforcement in a critical situation.

The final portion of the seminar gives attendees hands-on experience in hemorrhage control, correct tourniquet use, wound packing, and safe lift and carry techniques.

Whether it’s workplace violence or a serious accident, knowing how to control bleeding can save lives.

That’s why Physician’s Quality Care OCCMed is offering classes that teach how to control life-threatening bleeding. The classes can be taught as part of OCCMed’s active shooter seminars or separately.

Physicians Quality Care OCCMed is also selling kits to control bleeding for companies to have on hand for emergencies.

“People with a life-threatening wound are more likely to survive if a bystander knows how to control the bleeding until medical care arrives,” said Dr. Melanie Hoppers, Chief Medical Officer at Physicians Quality Care, who teaches the hemorrhagic bleeding course.

“Since gunshot wounds are likely to cause bleeding, there’s a renewed push in teaching people how to control the bleeding until the victim gets medical help. It’s important in saving lives. For example, all of the people who got makeshift tourniquets from bystanders at the Boston Marathon bombing survived.”

Dr. Hoppers has received extensive on-site training at the International School of Tactical Medicine in Sacramento, Calif. Students at the Sacramento school have included members of the FBI, DEA, ATF and hundreds of other organizations.

First aid for an open, bleeding wound ...

• Immediately apply firm, direct pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding.
• If a clean cloth or bandage is available, put it on the wound and press it firmly with your palm to control bleeding.
• Apply constant pressure until the bleeding stops.
• Maintain the pressure by binding the wound with a thick bandage or a piece of clean cloth. If not available, continue to maintain pressure with your hands.
• Apply a tourniquet if you’re trained in how to do so. Be prepared to explain how long the tourniquet was in place when emergency help arrives.
• If possible, raise the injured limb above the level of the heart. Immobilize the injured body part as much as possible.
• Remove any clothing or debris on the wound. 
• Don’t remove large or deeply embedded objects, probe the wound or try to clean it.
• Don’t put direct pressure on an eye injury or embedded object.

Source: Mayo Clinic

Every moment counts when you are near an active shooter. The Department of Homeland Security advises being prepared to take three courses of action:

• Avoid. If you see someone with a gun or hear gunfire, run away as fast as possible if you have an accessible escape path, even if others around you don’t want to follow.

• Deny. If you can’t escape, find a place where the shooter is unlikely to find you. Find a room with a door and lock it, or barricade heavy furniture against the door. Hide behind large items. Silence electronics. Remain calm and quiet.

• Defend. Confront the shooter as a last resort when you believe your life is in imminent danger.
  

• Of 160 active shooter incidents in the United States between 2000-13, 80 percent occurred at work.
• The U.S. had an average of 6.4 active shooter incidents yearly between 2000-06.
• The U.S. had 16.4 incidents per year from 2007-13.
• Both 2014 and 2015 had 20 incidents.
• Active shooter incidents in 2016 and 2017 included 49 deaths and 50 injuries at an Orlando nightclub and 58 deaths and more than 575 people injured at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas.

Source: FBI

For more information about scheduling an active shooter seminar, contact Jennifer Carmack, Director of Occupational Medicine, at 731.984.8400 or jennifer@physiciansqualitycare.com.