After the shooting Friday at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, we wondered how patients at dozens of other clinics in the region are affected. Vicki Cowart, president of Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, spoke with Ryan Warner about that. Below are highlights from the conversation.
Vicki Cowart on Friday's shooting:
"We're doing a deep assessment of what did go right, what might need to be changed, and we're thinking about that across the system. What we know up front is that all of our staff were safe, they got out of the building fine, and we really believe that as a result of their actions lives were saved."
On how Planned Parenthood staff trains for emergencies:
"We train for a lot of possibilities... That training really was effectively followed by our staff. They did the right things, they got into the back, they got patients and other folks in the waiting room into the back and got safe... The day that this happened, we sent out the booklet to all of our managers about what to do if there's an intruder or live shooter in the building that you're in."
On whether metal detectors are being considered:
"People should not have to walk through a metal detectors to access their healthcare. So we don't want to go to that level, and I don't think we need to go to that level. Again, what we need to do is be attentive and be sure that our employees know how to protect themselves and know how to protect their patients."
