Hospital lockdowns can leave patients isolated

While lockdowns can often keep uninvolved patients, visitors apart, hospital administrators say enhanced security protocols are standard and necessary when victims of violence are being treated, according to an article on the NPR website.

But administrators also recognize the indirect consequences of incidents such as mass shootings — like the distress people have when they're separated from sick loved ones, the article said.

Alan Butler, president-elect of the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety, said hospitals around the country compare notes, reassessing their disaster response plans, after every mass shooting. 

"Sometimes, we stay in these elevated lockdown stages longer than we need to," he said. Some hospitals deploy extra staff to deal with visitors. 

Read the article.