The Hospital Security Challenge

The provision of adequate security programs for Hospitals is a difficult and challenging task. Traditional security methods that may be applied to other industries are often not practical for today’s modern hospital environment. For example, in most cases, it is not practical or desirable to strictly control access to all hospitals by requiring all entrants to ingress through a security controlled checkpoint similar to the requirements to enter a defense plant, military base or nuclear power plant. It is not desirable because most hospital managers need and want to portray a feeling of welcoming and openness to the communities they serve. Additionally, it is often not practical because hospitals that continue to be squeezed by myriad of financial pressures can ill-afford the cost of additional FTEs required to man multiple checkpoints, although under certain circumstance a hardened perimeter may be in order. Most Hospitals have multiple portals of ingress and egress which also challenges access management. Hospitals must develop, "bend, but don’t break defenses." This means that it is a given that some folks may be able to enter the hospital who do not belong. Under these circumstances, hospitals need to develop strategies that control where these folks can go and to limit what they may do.

These circumstances, and many others, support the notion that hospital security is a difficult and challenging task. The question becomes: How do we adequately protect our patients, visitors and staff, and do so in a manner that maintains the desired sense of openness we wish to portray to our community? Therein lays the challenge.

Other factors that challenge the Healthcare Security Professional’s ability to maintain a secure environment for newborn and pediatric patients are potential for domestic strife and conflict to enter the picture. At the other end of the spectrum is the need to safeguard the elderly. Hospitals are often stress filled environments where reasonable behavior gives way to emotional driven impulsive behavior. Aberrant behavior is a common occurrence in many Emergency Departments. The combination of patients with behavioral health issue and those patients whose behavior has been altered by controlled substances and/or alcohol may add to the problem. When hospitals fail to reasonably protect patients and visitors, lawsuits are soon to follow.

Finally, hospitals are often soft targets for theft, fraud and the deceptive practices of some vendors. Ironically, many hospitals pay scant attention to asset protection and the misappropriation of property. Those hospitals that do not address asset protection within the security paradigm may be missing significant opportunities to cut the cost of doing business.

Clearly all hospital security programs must be built upon a foundational sense of purpose. The hospital security must have a predicate on which to move forward. Therefore, the first step in that process is the implementation of a thorough security assessment. Remember, Security Is a Situational Discipline. This means that each Hospital Security Program must be need driven with a set of mitigating solutions that are uniquely tailored to those identified needs. Security Management Services International Inc. (SMSI Inc.) knows how to identify threats and risks, and more importantly, how to cost effectively mitigate them. SMSI Inc. understands the special needs of healthcare security. Our pre-survey preparation invokes the use of an online Likert Scale Questionnaire that allows employees, with the protection of anonymity, to voice their perceptions of the security status of security at their hospital. This unique approach ensures that all employees have the chance to be heard and they are therefore more likely to buy-in of the ensuing solutions. Call us today (805-499-3800) for a conversation to see if SMSI Inc. can provide the benefits your Hospital needs.