In today’s economy, healthcare facilities continue being forced to “do more with less” and to look for ways they can maximize their response to service demands without adding more staff. As a result, we often see hospital security officers performing functions totally unrelated to security and loss prevention.
We recently had the opportunity to review litigation involving two elderly women who were sexually assaulted in their hospital beds. They were assaulted by the same offender within 20 minutes of each other, shortly after visiting hours ended. The offender, a “street person” with a long history of sexual assaults apparently gained access into the hospital through the attached Medical Office Building, and wandered unchallenged through the facility.
In the complaint, the plaintiff’s alleged that the hospital failed to adequately staff the security department, and that the on duty security officers failed to act appropriately. The hospital, a 150 bed facility located in an upscale neighborhood on the outskirts of a major city, staffed second shift with two uniformed officers. At that time, the officers were unequipped, meaning they carried nothing more than radio’s.
During discovery, it was learned that during the half hour window when the assaults were taking place, the security officers were busy outside taking out trash and running the trash compactor…a task they performed three times per shift. The discovery process was long and drawn out, and without taking too much time, the case settled for an incredible amount of money! In addition, you can imagine the PR nightmare that resulted, and the community concerns that continue to be felt.
A couple of valuable lessons were learned from the case:
1. If at all possible, avoid using security officers for non-security related tasks. We’ve all done it, but this case proves it can come back to bite you in a very expensive way! The plaintiff’s attorney in this case successfully argued that if the security officers were doing their job (making rounds, etc.) they may very well have encountered the individual, challenged him, and escorted him from the property. Under oath, the officers testified that had they encountered him, that is exactly how they would have performed, and the assaults might have been avoided.
2. Properly train and equip your officers. In this case, a group of nurses trapped the offender until security arrived. The offender resisted the first arriving officer. Fortunately, the officer was a retired state trooper, and even though he was poorly equipped, he used the offenders own shirt to make a pair of handcuffs that detained the offender until local police arrived. In most cases however, a security officer would not likely know how to use the offenders shirt as a makeshift restraint device, as this is not a common technique that hospital security officers are trained in.
In response to the incident, the hospital made some adjustments:
A. Security Officers are no longer used for things like trash compaction, meal deliveries, mail, patient transporters, etc. Their focus is now on providing a safe and secure environment.
B. Officers have been properly trained and equipped. This hospital took them out of the “theatre usher blazers” and put them in a police style uniform. In addition, they are now carrying expandable batons, OC spray, and handcuffs. Of course, they were trained on all of these by a qualified instructor.
C. Hospital staff has now received “security training for non-security staff”. Prior to this incident, non-security staff received little training in hospital security. A brief overview was provided during New Employee Orientation, but that was the extent. Today, all staff receives additional training, including observation techniques, awareness, reporting, responding, and how to conduct themselves until security arrives.
