Two AdventHealth nurses at an emergency room in Ocala, Fla., are suing the hospital over a training session that included a simulated active shooter exercise that trainees were not informed was part of a drill, Fox 35 Orlando reported Aug. 5.
Lauren Palazini and Dominique Tucker filed separate lawsuits against the hospital. The suits state they were attending a mandatory disaster preparedness and mass casualty training session when an unannounced active shooter situation occurred. A male employee who was carrying what appeared to be a semiautomatic weapon made a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot, burst into the training room and told everyone to get on the ground. One of the nurses called 911.
Both allege they were not informed it was a drill until 10 minutes later. They are seeking $30,000 each in damages.
AdventHealth told Fox 35 Orlando in a statement that the lawsuit "specifically refers to a single incident in 2021, which was one segment of a larger comprehensive safety training for a group of nursing students. We have addressed this instance to ensure a standard process is followed consistently and continue to [work] with industry experts to make our training as effective as possible at protecting our teams and patients."