“911, What’s Your Emergency?” The Importance of Practice, Preparedness, and Protocols for Dental Office Emergencies
No one can be completely prepared for every emergency they may encounter.
However, it is essential to be as prepared as possible. I suggest you follow your state board guidelines regarding how often this training needs to be updated. We must assign tasks to each staff member to be efficient.
Just as important is ensuring these protocols are written down and kept in an easily accessible place. Having assigned roles makes each practice you conduct more effective, and you will have an overall picture of what each staff member will be doing in your office.
The most common emergencies we could face are medical, fire, weather, and active shooter.
Medical Emergencies
Medical emergencies can be instantaneous and unexpected.
The best way to handle such an emergency is to communicate appropriately. Once a medical event begins, the entire staff must be notified of what is happening so everyone can start working through the office protocols.
To do this, every office member wears a radio and knows that all traffic must stop when a medical event occurs, except those directly assisting the patient. Immediately, a doctor will respond, instructing the receptionist to call 911 if needed and for the designated clinical staff member to bring all emergency equipment to the appropriate room.
Once 911 has been called and the doctor and assistant with the emergency equipment arrive, the doctor will take control of the scene. They take precedence over everyone else and assess the patient and their needs.
The doctor makes every decision, whether it be to push medication or oxygen or start compressions with an AED or CPR. The staff controls the other patients in the area or keeps frazzled family members out of the doctor’s way.
Our front desk team lets everyone in the waiting room know everything is being managed. The clinical team closes all patient doors and clears the hallways of patients and equipment. The staff member on the phone with the dispatcher gives them all the necessary information to transition the patient when they arrive successfully.
Once on the scene, the doctor will provide all pertinent information regarding the patient to the first responders, including vitals and all notes, so that they can have proper traces of care when doing their assessment. From there, we allow the paramedics to transport or treat the patient on-site, transitioning the patient’s needs to the medical professional.
Dealing with a Fire
In the event of a fire, the team must know how to handle the fire equipment, frantic patients, and their children (I work in a pediatric office).
Every staff member needs to see the location of all fire extinguishers and exits in case patients need to be evacuated promptly.
We assign staff members a zone. Zones are utilized to quickly communicate where the fire is, which zones are safe to travel through, and when the patients have cleared specified zones. Zones are also best when ensuring proper accountability for our staff members and patients.
The staff is trained to utilize the closest exit from their zone, checking all rooms and supply closets on their way out so that no one is left behind.
The team member to spot the fire calls out, “Fire in zone _____.” This signals to the staff what is happening and where the fire is located, and personnel are allowed to call 911 from their cell phones.
We all exit the building, meet at a predetermined location to gain everyone’s accountability, and wait for the firefighters to arrive.
Extreme Weather
Much like the fire protocols, each team member is assigned a zone. Safe areas and traffic lanes are identified in each zone to get to a secure location.
Communication is vital regarding Alabama’s most likely weather emergency—tornados. The team constantly monitors the weather, and as soon as our county has been placed under a tornado watch, we tell each staff member to get their patients to the designated safe areas.
Patients and staff members will remain in their safe area. Once the National Weather Service gives the ALL CLEAR for our county, we move our patients back to their previous locations and continue with their treatment.
We understand that weather emergencies can be frightening, and we cannot keep patients in the office if they wish to leave. However, with a calm demeanor and well-trained staff, this typically encourages our patients to remain in place until the weather event is ALL CLEAR.
Active Shooter
The most terrifying emergency to be addressed is the case of an active shooter.
Active shooter events are more unpredictable and fast-paced. Due to their unpredictability, these events are the hardest to prepare and train for. In an office where patients and staff are so spread out, the high-risk nature of this event is amplified.
I often ask myself:
- “Are any of these options feasible while keeping pediatric patients and their parents calm and safe?”
- “What options do we have as a clinical staff?”
- “Do we keep bear or wasp spray in every room or have a personal weapon in the office?”
- “What do we do if the shooter is a patient?”
All possibilities are terrible to imagine, making the active shooter protocol the hardest to write down and train for.
In the event of an active shooter, our run/hide/fight response will typically take over, which will prompt how we react and protect everyone in our assigned zones.
We train to move to the closest exit, go behind a locked door, or use anything available to protect ourselves and others. How we respond in the aftermath of the event will prove to be just as important as how we react during the event.
Our best-case scenario is to call 911 and wait for the emergency services to respond.
Active shooter events are fast-paced and confusing. This is why the proper run, hide, fight response, and stay out of the way of the police when the time comes.
Train with Your Team Today
Not all emergencies are going to end without secondary effects, like injury, death, or psychological trauma. It is not reasonable to believe that we can be prepared for every situation that could arise.
The most important thing to remember is your training and always remain as calm as possible.
We pray and prepare for the best outcomes while training for the absolute worst, hoping for a middle-ground result. Ultimately, patient and staff safety is paramount and what matters the most.
If we can escape any situation with everyone alive, our training and preparation will be successful.
About the Author
Kelley Perry, RDH, FAADOM
Kelley has been in dentistry for 35 years. She started her career as a Dental Assistant before earning her Dental Hygiene license in 1993.
Kelley transitioned out of the clinical staff 11 years ago to become the Office Manager for a pediatric dental office in Gadsden, Alabama.
Kelley was inducted into the AADOM Fellowship program in 2022 and aspires to receive her Mastership during the AADOM 2024 Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
