Hospital security a top issue says survey
Hospital security a top issue says survey
Sept. 11 brings changes to priorities
A decade ago, the most pressing security issue at most hospitals seemed to be infant security. Baby-snatching cases brought a spotlight onto hospitals and led to changes in the way most maternity wards operate. But after the events of last September, a different set of security issues seems to be emerging, say security experts, not all of them truly relevant to the everyday operations of a hospital.
A new health care security benchmarking study conducted by Burns International — a division of Pinkerton — done prior to Sept. 11 reported that while security remains a top issue, security budgets are being squeezed, leaving managers with more to do and less to do it with. The result: more emphasis on technology and less on manpower.
The study was conducted at more than 1,200 hospitals, both by phone and via mail. A response rate of 27% included hospitals of all sizes and types — from teaching hospitals and trauma units in urban areas, to suburban and rural hospitals. Respondents were asked to rate their most pressing concerns, explain policies and procedures, identify the technology they used or were considering using, list staffing levels, and explain training procedures.
Among the findings:
• Security staff represents about 1% of hospital personnel. Three quarters of that staff is hospital based, 12% contracted, and 10% a hybrid. Fewer than three in 10 hospitals said they planned to increase proprietary and contract staff in the future.
• Patient security is of most concern, followed by employee and visitor safety. Crimes against people caused the most worries, the study reports. And although most view the infant areas as very secure, baby security remains the highest departmental area of concern, followed by pediatrics, pharmacy, and the psychiatric areas.
• Nearly all the respondents have a security management plan, 86% have a workplace violence policy in accordance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines, and 84% of the hospitals provide general security training and health care security as well as facility-specific training. In the future, about 30% of respondents plan to improve their security management plan or update their workplace violence policy. Twenty-two percent plan to improve the general security training, while 30% plan to improve health care and facility-specific training.
• Technology use is high, compared to other industries in the United States, according to the survey. Nearly all hospitals use radio communications and closed-circuit television systems, while 88% use video recorders and security alarms. Among the other findings in this area: 83% use occupant identification systems; 81% have access-control systems; 69% have monitoring systems; and 27% have metal detectors. Another 4% plan to install metal detectors in the future.
Security is now a regular part of the operations of the typical health care organization, the study notes. "This is evident in every regional market segment, regardless of size, location, and provider, clinical expertise, or organizational growth," it says. "Security issues and concerns are identified and addressed daily by all levels of management. Mitigating liabilities and improving patient, visitor, and employee safety is critical to the performance of health care providers today. The level of industry understanding and participation is evident throughout all types of facilities and regions surveyed."
Health care: a breed apart
Health care is a different kind of business and has different security needs, says Walter Pry, a senior consultant with Pinkerton. "Other businesses aren’t so open or welcoming," he notes. "They don’t have to let in everyone. In a hospital, the public is invited. How welcoming you are determines, in part, whether you have the business or you don’t."
Pry, who spent the greater part of his career as director of security for a large Baltimore hospital, says the dilemma is coming up with adequate funds to keep a hospital safe, yet welcoming. "Security is a nonrevenue producing area, and that means the director has a tough battle to fight. He wants to hire more people and buy more equipment, but he has to convince the board it’s a good thing to spend on."
In the aftermath of Sept. 11, there is a little more willingness to spend, but it isn’t always on the right thing, says Ron Long, managing director at Pinkerton. "You have to identify the areas that really need programs and know where to spend money and where not to."
Since September, more hospitals have been requesting security reviews from Pinkerton, but there are many stories about less-than-appropriate expenditures that people are willing to make in the name of security. For instance, a lot of hospitals became frightened of opening mail and beefed up their security in the mailroom or changed the way they received packages.
"Given the statistics of where the anthrax scares were, it was more a panic approach than anything else," says Long. "It probably was money that could have been better spent elsewhere." Other hospitals called simply looking for "people with guns" to patrol the facilities, he says — another panicked reaction based more on fear than reality.
Few hospitals would be actual terrorist targets, Long adds. Most would be affected because of the number of casualties they would see coming through their doors. The only exception would be for hospitals that are close to potential terrorist targets. In those cases, a plan of what to do in case of another attack is prudent. Research centers that have potential biological weapons also should consider revamping their security plans, says Long.
Where hospitals do need to spend money is where they are vulnerable to crime, says Pry, and most of the time that is in the parking lots and areas where people often walk alone. "In a time where there is a nursing shortage, security of your nurses becomes a critical issue," he says. "Something like 85% of a hospital’s staff are women, and they come in 18 shift configurations throughout the day. You want them to be safe so you can compete for their work. If you don’t provide a safe environment, how can you recruit and keep your staff?"
Also consider beefing up security to restricted areas, says Long. "We do intrusion surveys where we pose as a visitor coming into the hospital and see if we can get into restricted areas," he says. "That really shows where you have holes."
Most hospitals aren’t subject to major incidents such as terrorist acts, or even baby snatching these days. Where they are vulnerable, says Pry, is the kind of bad publicity that comes from high-property crime rates in the parking lots or violent crime in the emergency department.
Hospitals should consider the overall crime rates where they’re located, Pry adds. A hospital in an affluent suburb where there isn’t a high crime rate doesn’t need to make the same security arrangements as an inner-city public hospital.
"If you walk into a hospital in a suburb and see a lot of security, you wonder what’s wrong," Pry says. "The same uniformed presence in a high-crime area makes you feel safe. You have to know the difference."
[Editor’s note: To view the entire Pinkerton Security benchmarking survey, visit the web site at www.pinkertons.com/security/vertical/healthcare/benchmark.asp.
For more information, contact:
- Ron Long, Managing Director, and Walter Pry, Senior Consultant, Pinkerton, 11019 McCormick Road, Suite 240, Hunt Valley, MD 21031. Telephone: (410) 785-7775.]
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