Page 30 - Security Today, June 2018

lenge of implementing security features that do not take away from the aesthetics of the hospital. They do not want the facility to feel like a prison and this often presents further challenges for security staff. The good news is that with the host of security technologies on the market and a comprehensive security design, both security and aesthetics are possible.
Security technologies are often not the first thought for hospital leadership. The latest diagnostic and treatment devices are of greater concern because these technologies allow medical professionals to save lives. However, security technologies are vital for protecting medical staff to ensure they can provide life-saving care. Security staff and technologies are critical in safeguarding assets across the hospital enterprise.
Hospital facilities are vast and often encompass numerous build- ing complexes with a wide range of structures used for anything from the helicopter landing pad to mental health inpatient care. Like medi- cal technology, security technologies are constantly evolving and finding the right security solutions can be a challenge for hospital staff. Staying up to date with the latest and greatest security technolo- gies and best practices for implementations can be nearly impossible for security staff while also handling the day to day security chal- lenges across the hospital enterprise.
Security staff in hospitals should build the foundation for iden- tifying a mitigation strategy. One way to build this foundation is to conduct a threat vulnerability risk assessment. Although most hospital security professionals understand the facility they secure better than anyone else, an outside perspective builds a holistic un- derstanding of security concerns. Look at assessing the facility in its entirety and analyzing threats across the spectrum from weather to human-made.
More Bang for the Buck
Hospital administrators want to get the most out of the money they are spending on security. Establishing the foundation by outlining threats and vulnerabilities to the facilities creates a list to mitigate. This can be used to find the technology that will best address the se- curity considerations. Hospital security professionals should be able to link the purchase of specific security technology to the risk they are looking to address. Some security technology platforms, such as video-analytics, can assist security teams in addressing a variety of concerns. More than ever before, security technologies can provide more situational awareness for hospital staff.
Exposing hospital security to the result of an assessment of the facilities can help expose different ways to consider what they might see using the technology for. Determining which video analytic soft- ware is best for the facility can be a daunting task. However, by estab- lishing the list of concerns that the technology can address the value becomes more rapidly apparent. The security team should build the foundation by understanding the real needs of the facilities before de- veloping a design or more importantly purchasing additional security technology equipment.
Most hospitals already use video surveillance, video analytics, and employee access control systems to address prescription drug theft, perimeter security and to prevent newborn abduction. Ad- vanced analytics software in most video management systems allows a hospital to track staff, patients and assets, and help protect them against fraudulent accident or injury claims. Video surveillance and access control are standard technologies used in the hospital across the country. However, some other security technologies starting to gain traction are biometric access control, visitor management kiosks and real-time location systems.
At the Tip of the Finger
Biometrics can enhance security for hospitals in ways access badges cannot. A badge can be handed off to another person that looks sim- ilar to a hospital employee, but biometrics can eliminate this vulner- ability. Facial recognition for access control can speed up the process of transiting staff in and out of a facility. Biometric platforms can also be used to verify patients identity, saving security staff from the misidentification of patients. Identifying dual-use security platforms is one way that security teams can show added value when determin- ing ways to pay for security technology.
Security staff at any facility remain in limited supply. One way to elevate the need for security staff to manage patient visitors at hospi- tal entrances is through the utilization of a visitor management kiosk. These kiosks create a temporary printed badge limiting access to only the area where the patient they are visiting is located. A photo and identification information is collected that can be referenced if a situ- ation arises. This self-service feature can help eliminate lines or visitor crowding that could be a target in an active shooter event. Visitor man- agement kiosks help to free up security staff from checking identifica- tion, allowing them to remain mobile and better identify anomalies.
Another technology trend in hospitals is real-time location device systems. Adding a layer of situational awareness, real-time location
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HOSPITAL SECURITY