Comprehensive Security for Healthcare Facilities from the Parking Lot to the Emergency Room

“The tumors are everywhere. They aren’t sure what kind of cancer it is yet.”

After months of unexplained health issues, my 34-year-old sister lost feeling to her legs and collapsed. The emergency room doctors immediately ordered an MRI and found her body riddled with tumors. One of the largest masses had eaten away at two of her lower vertebrae, almost completely severing her spine by the time of the scan.

While my job has had me focused on security for the last few years, security was the last thing on my mind as I made my way to her hospital room for the first time. I didn’t notice the massive sign proclaiming a zero-tolerance policy for violence, I didn’t see the security cameras, I didn’t notice the vigilant employees. I was entirely preoccupied with her life-altering reality and with what—if anything—I could do to lessen her burden.

Hospitals fill a unique role in our communities. They house people at their most vulnerable—from the patients with severe health challenges to the family members and friends consumed by worry. This fragile state of emotion is juxtaposed by a cold reality: Hospitals see more than their fair share of crime—particularly violence.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the healthcare industry deeply feels the security challenges facing it:

• Up to 38% of healthcare workers suffer physical violence at some point in their career.
• Healthcare workers only make up 10% of the workforce, but 48% of all nonfatal injuries because of workplace violence.
• The theft and misuse of medication can easily cost hospitals $164 million in a year.

When people are overwhelmed by fear, grief, or uncertainty, they can’t be expected to think about security—and they shouldn’t have to. A multi-layered approach for healthcare facility security ensures protection is already in place, allowing patients, loved ones, and caregivers to carry only the burdens that truly belong to them.

Hospital Security Challenges

During her 8-week stay in the hospital, my sister had a near-constant parade of visiting well-wishers. People loved her and wanted to be sure she knew it. 

While they aren’t providing the technical support of nurses and doctors, visitors play an essential role in creating a healing environment for patients, often leading to better health outcomes as they serve as both advocates and emotional support. 

Unfortunately, this crucial aspect highlights one of the main challenges for healthcare facility security: How to securely provide easy access to an extremely vulnerable population when high emotions and life-altering discussions are the norm.

Other challenges include:

• High-risk areas, including pharmacies (with tempting targets) and emergency departments (with frequent escalations on all fronts)
• Diverse and sometimes geographically dispersed sections of the healthcare facility
• Patients acting irrationally due to medical conditions
• Patients with limited mobility during emergency situations

A Multi-Layered Approach to Healthcare Facility Security

These complications and high-risk points mean there is no single perfect security solution. Instead, hospital security must rely on a multi-layered approach, combining careful planning, regular and thorough training, and top-tier equipment.

Planning

There is no one-size-fits-all plan for addressing security threats in hospitals. Each plan must be individually tailored to the healthcare facility it serves (and regularly updated as time goes on). 

A formal workplace violence risk assessment can help identify specific risks at specific hospitals, allowing the security team to prioritize potential threats with the highest probabilities and the biggest impacts. This enables the team to develop emergency action plans and protocols with the highest chance of mitigating problems.

Training

The best plans and the most advanced equipment in the world won’t make any difference if no one knows what they are or how to use them. Employee training—for security personnel, healthcare providers, and everyone in between—is essential.

To ensure everyone is on the same page, security leaders should:

• Educate all staff on security policies, procedures, and systems—and hone in on the importance of actually following these policies and procedures
• Regularly retrain to keep the information front-of-mind
• Adopt policies such as “see something, say something” to encourage open lines of communication

Since security threats can come from virtually anyone at any time, it’s important to ensure staff are educated on potential warning sign behaviors. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Escalating erratic, unsafe, or aggressive behaviors
• Sudden/dramatic changes in personality, performance, or life
• Verbal threats or statements of retribution 

Tools

Just as a surgeon requires a scalpel to perform surgery, a security team requires tools to do their jobs as safely and effectively as possible. 

• Access control measures: Access control should be strict and role-specific when it comes to sensitive areas in the hospital. 
• Security cameras: Cameras detect problems and provide situational awareness. AI-enhanced features act as a force-multiplier, alerting personnel of issues and searching for relevant footage without wasted manhours.
• Mobile security units: Mobile surveillance units allow for easy outdoor camera placement and proactive crime deterrent solutions.
• Panic buttons: Duress buttons should be easily accessible throughout the facility for any staff who might need help. 

Whatever the tool, it should have key features to fit into the larger security plan without creating additional vulnerabilities or disruptions. This means these tools should have:

• Built-in cybersecurity measures
• Easy integration capabilities
• Clear communication and alerts

No matter how good the equipment may be, it’s important to regularly test and maintain all systems to ensure optimal operations at all times.

Protection Where It Matters Most

Some areas in hospitals are naturally prone to higher risks of violence and theft.

Emergency Departments

Emergency rooms are high traffic areas with a high potential for violence. Because of the constant motion and activity, access control measures are significantly harder to utilize in this department, making other measures, such as easily accessible panic buttons, essential. 

This is one department where it is a good idea to have security personnel available in case of aggressive escalation.

Pharmacies and Dispensaries

While hospitals are full of controlled substances, no area has more of them at a time than a pharmacy or dispensary. This makes this location an ideal place for less-than-ideal crimes. 

Fortunately, the lack of high traffic behind the counters makes it straightforward to implement strict access control measures.

Maternity Wards and Nurseries 

Maternity wards and nurseries house the cutest and smallest patients in hospitals. Unfortunately, these small patients have literally no idea where they are supposed to be and who they are, making them prime targets for infant abduction.

Combatting this ever-present threat requires a mix of access control measures, alarms, and security cameras.

Parking Lots

In addition to the higher risk of theft and assault, parking lots are the first line of defense when it comes to healthcare facility security. A clear security presence here sets the tone for the hospital experience, with visible measures like mobile security units deterring bad behavior. 

While parking lots don’t have the means for traditional panic buttons, LiveView Technologies® offers SafeNow, a mobile application that enables employees to activate key mobile security unit capabilities for proactive protection.

Looking to strengthen protection on your healthcare campus? Contact LVT about a mobile surveillance unit demonstration today.