New Hampshire

Concord Hospital To Perform ‘Armed Intruder’ Drill Wednesday

Published

1 year ago

September 24, 2024

Concord Hospital To Perform ‘Armed Intruder’ Drill Wednesday

CONCORD, NH — If you hear strange sounds or see unusual activity at the Concord Hospital campus on Wednesday, everything is OK … it is only a drill.

Concord Hospital Health System and the New Hampshire Department of Homeland Security will conduct an “armed intruder” drill at the hospital. This is the third such drill happening with the hospital’s affiliates. Drills were also held in Franklin and Laconia earlier this year.

John Duval, the hospital’s director of security, said safety and training have been consistent priorities for security staff. However, security staffers, who also worked with hospital staff to ensure they were prepared, had not done extensive training since the end of the pandemic. Duval has also been named to a new state commission focused on hospital safety.

A few events nationally led the team to “revisit our policy” and shift the focus from active shooter to armed intruder.

“There have been situations, not only in the United States but across the world, where the killing of people in one incident happens in other ways other than firearms,” he said.

Duval said security and medical staff needed to be focused on the person and the weapon, not just a gun. The security staff then rewrote many of the protocols over the course of about two years. During all of last year, employees at all three hospitals were trained with the new policies.

Eric Crane, a security program manager at the hospital, said employees worked on functional exercises, testing their eternal response to an event. Every department and employee was involved in hundreds of activities. The events and exercises were “short in duration” but meant to get employees to focus on what was happening at the hospital before outside personnel arrived to assist.

“Our policy speaks to avoid, hide, and fight,” he said.

Previously, the policy was run, hide, and fight, but that often led to hundreds of employees all converging on exits, causing clusters of activity and chaos. By avoiding, employees create distance, and in many ways, Duval said, they are safer, too.

Crane said he would act as an armed intruder and then instruct the staff to react to the scenario chosen for the training so the drill would be as realistic as possible. Hospital staff, he said, performed the tasks before work, during breaks and lunch hours, and after regular work hours, so their day-to-day activities focused on patient care were not affected by the training.

Security officials conducted debriefings after the training to analyze each department’s successes. Crane said each employee reacted differently to each scenario; some found their heart rates rising, while others had to address the emotionality of the training.

“The reactions have been quite positive,” Crane said.

Duval said each department now had safety and escape plans based on the training. And every employee, too, has their plans, he said.

“We want them to keep this, not on the front burner,” he said. “Awareness. Don’t come to work afraid; come to work aware. And when you do that, you can do your job, reasonably safe, and the employee will be successful when they are mindful of their options.”

After all the training, Duval and Crane raised the level beyond the hospitals to include outside law enforcement, fire and rescue teams, and other entities involved with emergency rooms. When there is conflict in a hospital, Duval said, it was often in an emergency department, even though it could happen anywhere in the building. But it was usually focused on a specific crisis incident.

While law enforcement and firefighters will be involved, the focus will not be on their activities and reactions as much as on the reactions of the hospital staff and security.

Franklin was held in May, and Laconia in August. After Wednesday’s work, the security officials will assess how everything went and then proceed.

Duval and Crane said the hospitals had excellent working relationships with law enforcement partners around the county and were fortunate to have built rapport with the departments.

The drill will start at Concord Hospital around 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25.

Source link

New Hampshire

Former president of NH-based charity sentenced after stealing $350K

Published

9 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Former president of NH-based charity sentenced after stealing 0K

State

Zip Code

Country

Source link

New Hampshire

Mass. man struck by car, seriously injured on I-93 in Londonderry, NH

Published

21 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Mass. man struck by car, seriously injured on I-93 in Londonderry, NH

A Massachusetts man was flown to the hospital after he was struck by a car when he stepped out of his vehicle in the breakdown lane of Interstate 93 in Londonderry, New Hampshire, on Saturday morning.

State police say 40-year-old Felix Matos Medina, of Lawrence, had stopped on the right side of I-93 south at Exit 5 just before 11 a.m. to investigate a possible mechanical issue. He was struck shortly after he stepped out of his vehicle by a Chevrolet Malibu and sustained serious injuries.

Medina was taken by medical helicopter to Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington, Mass., police said. There was no immediate update on his condition.

I-93 southbound was closed near Exit 5 for about 30 minutes to facilitate the medical helicopter’s landing. One lane remained closed for several hours to accommodate crash reconstruction and on-scene investigation.

The driver who struck Medina, identified as David Jodoin, stopped at the scene and is cooperating with investigators, according to police. No charges have been filed at this time, but all aspects of the crash remain under investigation at this time.

Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact Trooper Evan Puopolo at 603-451-9784.

State police are also reminding all New Hampshire drivers that Sherrill’s Law requires motorists approaching a stopped vehicle displaying warning signals to slow down and give plenty of space. Drivers are also required to move out of partially or wholly blocked lanes when it’s safe to do so.

Source link

New Hampshire

Downtown Shooting | How Much Income Makes Someone ‘Rich’ | Sex Sale Gone Bad On Facebook? Nearby News NH

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Downtown Shooting | How Much Income Makes Someone ‘Rich’ | Sex Sale Gone Bad On Facebook? Nearby News NH

CONCORD, NH — Here are the Top 10 most popular stories and posts from around New Hampshire Patch sites last week.

Concord Police Investigating The Death Of A Young Child In The City’s South End Neighborhood: Update: Dakin Street was closed to traffic for several hours during an investigation of a child found dead at a duplex on Friday morning.
Facebook Marketplace Cleaning Services Hire Or Sex Sale Gone Bad Leads To Stabbing In Manchester: Court docs: Frank Miller of Manchester and Kendra Gokey, a homeless woman, were arrested on first-degree assault and other charges Sunday.
Man Shot During Dispute On South State Street In Downtown Concord: Video: Breaking: A man was shot in the leg Saturday during a dispute; cops have South State Street from Thompson to Concord closed to traffic.
Fast Food Chain Closing Locations | Queen City Killing | Meth Distributor Pleads Guilty | More: Nearby News: Also: Best sandwich shop in NH; untimely death; crashes; knife attack indictments; firefighter injured in explosion released from hospital.
After The Snow Sunday And Monday, More Is Coming To New Hampshire, Forecasters Say: After the storm that is expected to bring 8 to 12 inches of snow to the state, more snowstorm fronts are expected to arrive this week.
6 To 15 Inches Of Snow Heading To The Granite State Sunday Night; Wind Gusts Up To 45 mph: Forecasters: Heavy, blinding snow is expected in central and southern New Hampshire, as well as the Seacoast, from Sunday night to Monday morning.
National Fast Food Chain To Close Hundreds Of Restaurants; New Hampshire Locations May Be Impacted: The chain that closed hundreds of locations in 2024 expects to shutter approximately 360 nationwide during the first half of 2026.
Police Arrest Man On Felony Charges After South State Street Shooting In Downtown Concord: Follow-Up: David Anziani faces first-degree and second-degree assault, reckless conduct, and felonious firearm charges after a shooting on Saturday.
Hollis Teen Faces Assault Charge, Accused Of An ‘Unprovoked’ Attack In Downtown Nashua In November: Connor Cook was arrested in late December after being accused of punching another man in the face on Main Street and then fleeing the scene.
How Much Income Is Needed To Be Considered ‘Rich’ In New Hampshire?: A new analysis details the annual household income required to be considered among the top 10 percent of earners in the Granite State.

Here are some other posts readers may have missed:

Child Death Investigation | Queen City Tax Cap Fight | Fun Things To Do This Weekend | More: PM Patch NH

Source link