Page 20 - Security Today, March 2017

COVER STORY
The Clery Vision
Impact on hospitals and other healthcare settings By Dolores A. Stafford
Security directors in hospitals and other healthcare tion categories defined by the law, to include On Campus, Noncam-
settings need to understand pertinent aspects of the Clery Act, and how to partner with colleges and uni- versities to establish, maintain or enhance compliance with this federal law. Although the law does not apply
directly to privately owned healthcare facilities, security directors in these settings can play an integral role in helping ensure an affiliated higher education institution is complying with the requirements of the Clery Act. By working together on Clery compliance initiatives, institutions and affiliated healthcare facilities can promote safety of students, employees, patients and visitors within these settings.
The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (the Clery Act1) is a landmark federal campus safety law that applies to any U.S. institution of higher edu- cation that participates in any of the federal financial assistance pro- grams authorized under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA).
Among other mandates, the law requires institutions to develop, publish and disseminate an Annual Security Report (ASR) that con- tains certain crime statistics and statements of policy across a wide spectrum of safety and security-related topics. The intent of the law is to provide current and prospective students and employees with relevant information that will help them to make informed decisions regarding their safety and security at the institution.
Clery Geography: Own, Lease or Use
One of the perennial challenges facing institutions of higher educa- tion with affiliated healthcare facilities is how these facilities fit into the institution’s overall “Clery Geography,” which refers to the loca-
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pus and Public Property locations. For example, does the college or university own or lease healthcare facilities? Does the institution use space within privately owned healthcare facilities, with or without a formal written agreement, memorializing use of space? Any of these arrangements create potential Clery Act reporting requirements that must be further evaluated from a Clery Geography perspective.
Understanding how the physical parameters of crime reporting apply to healthcare facilities affiliated with a college or university is of critical importance. A college or university cannot accurately dis- close crime statistics by location (a requirement of the Clery Act) if it has not conducted a comprehensive evaluation of its real estate holdings from a Clery Geography perspective. This is especially true for healthcare facilities given the various models that are in place.
For example, a college or university may own a hospital that is lo- cated within its campus boundaries. In such instances, the hospital is treated no differently than other on-campus locations—from a Clery Act perspective—when it is owned or controlled by the institution and is used in direct support of, or in a manner related to, educational or institutional purposes.
However, other institutions may own or control a hospital that is not “reasonably contiguous” to the main campus. Such arrange- ments require an assessment to determine if the hospital meets the non-campus or separate campus definitions established by the Act.
The 2016 Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting provides new guidance to institutions of higher education regarding the circumstances in which a hospital or medical center is being “con- trolled’ by the institution, even without a written agreement establish-