by Quinn Gorte | Nov 16, 2018 | News Slider
Lipscomb wants to get ahead of the curve by preparing students and faculty in advance for emergency scenarios. School shootings are happening at an alarming, weekly rate in the United States. While Lipscomb may not be able to avoid an active shooter situation, but it is trying to do everything it can to prevent the situation, as well as to ensure its students and staff are safe and equipped. “We aren’t hopeful that something will happen,” Lipscomb’s Assistant Vice President of Risk Management Kathy Hargis said. “[But] yet, we want to be prepared, just in case that it does.” Hargis trains faculty and staff to hold to a three-step rule in active shooter situations: Flee, hide, and fight. First, students should flee the compromised area, if possible. Second, if they are unable to safely leave the premises, students should hide where they are after turning off surrounding lights and locking nearby doors. The third step is a personal option, according to Hargis. If students are approached by the shooter, students are encouraged to defend themselves by using any surrounding objects as a defense or a distraction. The Bison Alert text messaging system is the emergency communication system through which Lipscomb students receive notifications . In the event of an emergency situation, Hargis believes students will receive the text warning of a shooter, including the shooter’s location on campus. Hargis realizes that students may be frightened, due to the amount of shootings happening lately in the country, but she encourages students to recognize recent shooting facts. “It’s really a small percentage on college campuses of active shooters, when you look...
by Erin Turner | Jun 10, 2015 | News Slider
A medical helicopter landed on the campus quad Tuesday morning, but not because there was an actual emergency. Campers at Lipscomb’s HCA/TriStar Health Care Academy watched as the Air Evac chopper flew over the Burton Health Sciences Center and soon got to take a look inside. “They are all interested in a health or science career of some sort,” said Laura Ward, who oversees the Health Care Academy and serves as director of admissions and student affairs for the College of Pharmacy. For camper Ashley Nicholson, the summer program provided her with an experience to learn about the medical career field. “This camp will help [me] pursue [my] goal of becoming an OBGYN or cardiologist,” Nicholson said. Ever since they arrived on campus on Sunday, the 22 campers started learning about experiences in pharmacy, nursing, nutrition and exercise science. On Tuesday the campers first learned critical skills like CPR, EKG and AED, then were thrown into real-life situations where they put those new skills to use. Three journalism camp students were recruited to participate as the “victims,” portraying injured hikers for the simulation. In the scenario, the “victims” were attacked by allergen-inducing yellow jackets and had injured their necks and wrists in the process of escaping. They also attained severe lacerations and suffered from an insulin shortage due to diabetes. Each group was dedicated to treating one victim, with an instructor to help guide the group. “If there is anything that can kill him [the victim], find it and fix it in four to six minutes,” instructor April Ezell said. Out of all the camp activities, the helicopter drew the most attention around campus. The...
by Caitlin Selle | May 30, 2013 | News Slider
She’s been awake since 3 a.m. and it’s 25 degrees out. Just before starting the blind 250 foot rappel down the mountain face in Grand Tetons, the water in her bottle isn’t the only thing that’s frozen. While the 40th birthday is known for “getting over the hill,” April Ezell chose to not only “get over the hill,” but get over the mountain. Ezell’s hands are stiff and cold and her body is locked into place as she looks down and out at the snake river and downtown Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Despite the two-day-long climbing camp she “graduated” from in order to attempt this Grand Tetons adventure, she can’t will herself to move. “I froze up there, I just froze,” Ezell says, “and we had this old-school guide who said, ‘We don’t have time for this, we don’t have time to be nervous, just get off the mountain.’ “He definitely displayed some tough love up there — but it worked” After not only completing the 13,000 foot climb in the Grand Tetons, but being the only two successful members of the group to finish, Ezell and her husband repelled down the mountain adding yet another adventure story to the books. After playing both tennis and basketball for the Bisons, Ezell graduated from Lipscomb in 1983. Now, after coaching for fifteen years, she is a professor in the Kinesiology Department who is known for her adventures and storytelling. “I had April Ezell for Backpacking One and she was really encouraging and inspiring,” says Communications major, Kyrsten Turner, “I am not a very daring person and she taught me how to have...
