HENDERSON, Nev.—A impromptu terrorism training exercise at St. Rose Dominican Hospital left 26 ICU patients unattended for 15 minutes. The hospital could face a fine from the Nevada Health Division as a result.
During the May 24 exercise, a man walked into the ICU with a handgun and ordered staff members into a break room and kept them there as hostages, reports the Toronto Sun. The situation was similar to a March 2009 incident where a man walked into the hospital’s emergency room with a loaded weapon.
However, the “assailant” for the May attack was on off-duty police officer carrying a gun that was not loaded. Staff members, including two nurses, two doctors, a respiratory therapist, the director of the ICU, the charge nurse and a house supervisor were held in the break room for 15 to 20 minutes.
Neither staff members nor administration were notified that the drill was going to take place.
The hospital could face a fine of about $800. The hospital’s security director, who staged the event, has been fired.
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