Cee Cee- Iahss Advanced

cee cee- IAHSS ADVANCED What do most security professionals agree that a primary function of the security department in a healthcare setting should be? Crime prevention. Inherent Susceptibility: A healthcare setting is a prime target for crime, because of how the business of healthcare works. Open access: Healthcare institutions traditionally provide an open access environment. This arrangement accommodates the huge numbers of people who come onto the property on a daily basis. Once in a healthcare facility, someone can easily pose as a visitor or contractor and go through many areas without being questioned. Presence of Valuable Item: A healthcare facility is susceptible to crime due to the wide variety of portable, marketable items used and stored there. More than 3000 items purchased by hospitals are usable in the home. Distracted Patients and Staff: Criminals know that patients and family members often are less aware of their surroundings due to the medical and emotional issues with which they are dealing. Criminals also see that the fast pace of the healthcare environment makes workers less aware as well. Whose personal safety is affected? Patients: If patients are concerned for their personal well being or the safety of their personal property their recovery may be affected. They may decide to get healthcare treatment elsewhere. Employees: employees with personal safety concerns are less productive and less attentive to patients. Visitors: Visitors concerned for their personal well being may encourage their loved ones to seek medical care elsewhere. Reducing the opportunities for Crime- The triangle of crime 1. The opportunity to commit crime. 2. The desire or motivation to commit the crime. 3. The ability to commit crime. Of the 3 components, desire and ability are for the most part, beyond the control of the security professional. Reducing the opportunity for crime is the key to crime prevention. Crime prevention Crime prevention is the anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and the initiation of some action to remove or reduce it. Preventing Crime through physical security planning To adequately protect a healthcare environment and prevent crime a comprehensive security plan must be developed. Its scope must extend to the following: 1-Protecting Personnel, 2-Protecting Information, 3-Protecting the Physical Plant. Layers of protection: 1. The perimeter barrier. 2. Barriers at the buildings' exteriors. 3. Interior controls. Perimeters The first line of defense is a perimeter barrier. A perimeter barrier defines the line or outside perimeter of the site. It can be either structural or natural. An example of structural perimeter barrier is a chain-link fence. An example of a natural barrier is a row of trees. Exteriors The second line of defense is at the buildings' exteriors: the top, sides and bottom of each building. Doors, windows, skylights, and fire escapes provide this defense. Interiors The third line of defense is interior controls. Included are the internal operations of the protected site and the security personnel who protect the environment. Many items comprise the interior control system. Lock and key systems, access control, systems ( card, biometrics, etc.) alarms, cameras, good policies and procedures, and proper training examples. New employees New employee orientation is a vital fist step to generate employee involvement in support of the security program. Security's involvement in new employee orientation begins a relationship between the security department and employees that must be nurtured and maintained. Key messages; when and what to report Urge new employees to report the following safety and security concerns immediately upon discovery. Suspicious Persons and safety deficiencies. Hazard surveillance inspections The purpose of the inspections is to identify any safety and security risks and get them corrected. Typically the inspection looks for the following: Fire hazards, employee knowledge and understanding of the fire and emergency plans, hazardous materials, material safety data sheets, medical gas shut off policy (unit specific) Familiarity with he Safe Medical Devices Act and how to respond if equipment falls. Fire Hazards Obstructions in Corridors, Blocked Sprinkler Heads, Doors blocked open, Obstructed stairwells, and difficult to see exit signs. The members of the inspection team Members of the inspection team commonly include the following: Safety/Security Director, risk manager, environmental services manager, maintenance manager, and a representative from the nursing department. Crime analysis Crime analysis is one of the most important aspects of risk assessment and crime prevention. Crime analysis is the ongoing, systematic process of collecting,