King’s Daughters Medical Center Held Active Shooter and Workplace Violence Seminar
Sasha Bush
The Ashland Beacon
On Friday, April 21, 2023, King’s Daughters Medical Center partnered with local law enforcement and emergency management services to host an Active Shooter and Workplace Violence Response and Prevention seminar. The event was held at the King’s Daughters Pavilion Auditorium, which is located at 2000 Ashland Drive, Russell KY. Lunch was provided by KDMC and guests in attendance could choose from Moe’s Southwest Grill, Slim Chickens, and Penn Station. The seminar featured several informative sessions that all had one common goal… to help local businesses, organizations, and schools develop a better understanding of how to react when the unexpected happens.
The event featured seven sessions that various members of local law enforcement and emergency management service members took time out of their day to present. Each presentation allowed guests to hear just how local experts would coordinate during a crisis. Each session was a treasure trove of information.
The sessions held included: School Safety & Preparedness- presented by Bryan Tackett, Flatwoods PD and Troy Patrick, Ashland PD; Police Training & Response- presented by Ryan McDavid and Dakota Gilkison, Ashland PD; Emergency Management Training & Response- presented by Tim England & Greg Priddy, Boyd County Emergency Management and Buford Hurley, Greenup Public Safety; Role of 911 Dispatch- presented by Matt Saunders, Boyd County 911 and Buford Hurley, Greenup Public Safety; Business/Church Security & Training- presented by Scott Hill and John Miller, King’s Daughters Medical Center. A special presentation was also held by the Kentucky State Police, which was followed by Crisis Leadership and a Q+A discussion panel.
Scott Hill, who has worked closely with King’s Daughters Medical Center’s security for many years, shared just how the idea for this seminar came to be, “We really wanted to do something for the community. So, we reached out to our local law enforcement and emergency responders to offer some training and expertise in hopes that those in attendance can go back and take what they have learned from the seminar and make our churches, schools, and businesses a little bit safer.” Hill has been over the security of King’s Daughters Medical Center for over twenty-five years and knows what it takes to secure an establishment and keep it safe.
“My hope is that our guests take away some new knowledge and implement that knowledge within their church, school, or business. We have had so many great presentations already, and I truly believe that everybody in attendance has learned something. That’s what we are all here for after all is to learn from one another,” stated Hill. This type of training is becoming more and more important for businesses, schools, and churches to take part in as we are hearing about senseless shootings all too often in the news with each passing day. It is of the utmost importance that our businesses, schools, and churches know how to react and respond to the unexpected at the drop of a dime because those few minutes can be the difference between life and death.