I worked in a Washington hospital for a few years as a youth advocate and routinely visited all of the departments except surgery. I agree with “Lante” comments concerning the practicality of carrying a firearm in that environment. I would definitely not OC as a Code Silver would be called (see below) and in this day and age I would bet good money that they would immediately call the cops. The result would most likely be (IMO) that you would get trespassed. So, if you were there for treatment, it would get further delayed (if at all) and if you were there to visit someone, you wouldn’t get to. Sounds counterproductive unless getting trespassed was the object in the first place and I think that a hospital is a poor choice for that type of exercise. Believe me, hospitals are full of patients with very poor cognitive reasoning abilities.
As far as CC is concerned, the “Lante” comments about being highly scrutinized all the time is very true. The staff is pretty adept at detecting “bulges under clothing” and people using “protective” gestures or “adjusting” undergarment articles. The staff isn’t necessarily paranoid about a firearm per se. Concealed contraband articles such as booze or outside food is common.
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Excerpt from “Standardizing Emergency Code Calls, Washington State [Hospitals]” (wsha.org):
Emergency Code Silver
Purpose
To call a response team to assist staff in managing and/or de-escalating a potentially threatening situation and gain the cooperation of a person with a weapon or who has taken hostage(s) within the facility or its grounds. Nonadjacent properties should call 911.
Reason Silver Was Selected for Weapon or Hostage Situation
Silver is the color of a gun which makes it easy for staff to remember for person with weapon or hostage situation. It was also selected in order to be consistent with the all of the other states that have standardized emergency code calls.
Supporting Information
It is important to note that anyone can engage in hostile or violent behavior: patients, patients’ family members, staff, staff family members, or acquaintances of employees and patients. When staff are concerned about their own safety or the safety of others and suspects that someone is brandishing a weapon, they are to call a CODE SILVER. Patients, visitors or staff are at risk of being confronted by a person with a weapon or of being involved in a hostage situation. If such a situation arises, staff members should not attempt to intervene or negotiate.
The definition of a weapon is any firearm, knife, or instrument than can cause bodily harm or injury.
This type of code will generally not be announced overhead but a response team will be notified. When Code Silver is activated, a response from internal security and potentially external law enforcement will be called.
Other buildings of the medical center which are not part of the hospital itself will dial 911 for response.
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Although the staff might (and I stress might) be trained as to what constitutes “brandishing” a weapon, I would bet that an OC or CC encounter would trigger a Code Silver anyway. Same result.
