DENVER — The Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs remained closed Monday night, but several other clinics across the state were open for business.
Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains President and CEO Vicky Cowart addressed safety concerns just days after Friday’s attack.
Monday, she returned to her office and began the process to move her organization back toward normalcy.
“We are all suffering from the fact this has just happened. It happened to us and it happened to our community,” Cowart said.
On Friday, police say Robert Lewis Dear shot 12 people at the Colorado Springs clinic. Cowart said she is thankful all 15 of her staff members made it out unharmed.
She believes employee training for active shooter scenarios played a role in that.
“Planned Parenthood does come under attack on a fairly regular basis,” Cowart said.
She went on to address the unique circumstance of the organization.
“We are very aware that security in any kind of business these days is important. We may train more than most people just because of who we are,” she said.
During Friday’s standoff, Cowart said her staff used what they’ve learned.
“Get people out of the front way. Get people into safe spaces behind closed doors, behind locked doors, hunker down, quiet your cell phones, be still,” Cowart said.
The event has shaken her and her staff. Three people died Friday night, including one of the responding officers.
“To see what’s happened down there is heartbreaking,” Cowart said.
But the attack has not broken them. Cowart said the organization is committed to its mission of providing reproductive health care and will look to improving security measures.
“We will learn from this and probably make changes,” she said.
According to Cowart, patients from the Colorado Springs clinic have already been contacted and are being redirected to other locations.
She does not know when the Colorado Springs clinic will reopen. She said it is under police control and once it’s released, they will have to make several repairs to the clinic.