Page 74 - Security Today, January/February 2019

By Kim Rahfaldt
Streamlining Healthcare Security
KentuckyOne partners with security providers to identify and mitigate potential risks
secure environments
Hospitals and healthcare facilities are some of the most active public spaces in the United States, and while most facilities strive to maintain a welcom- ing atmosphere, without protective measures this open-door policy can make them vulnerable to criminal activity. For KentuckyOne Healthcare System—a part of the Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) family of hospitals and one of the largest and most comprehensive health systems in the Common- wealth of Kentucky—finding a security provider that could address the site-specific challenges and deliver qualified security personnel was daunting.
Working with five separate security providers, as well as an in-house team to secure more than 20 hospitals, KentuckyOne sought to con- solidate their security team under one roof to streamline operations.
KentuckyOne selected G4S Secure Solutions (USA) and AMAG Technology to address KentuckyOne’s unique environment, popula- tion, community served and related risks. While G4S brought highly-
trained and experienced security personnel to KentuckyOne’s hospi- tals, AMAG brought innovative security technology, RISK360, which provided real-time incident reporting and case management, allow- ing stakeholders to report, track and resolve incidents and identify and mitigate potential risks.
Working with different security providers at multiple locations also led to challenges in leadership and accountability within the security system. If the hospital faced an issue at one location and a second issue at another, they did not have a single point of contact who could address their concerns. G4S implemented a leadership structure that supported the entire system. Now, when a pain point comes up, the security team has a single contact who can address the issue, rather than the headache of multiple phone calls to deter- mine who can help solve a problem. And while the consolidation
"If the hospital faced an issue at one location and a second issue at another, they did not have a single point of contact who could address their concerns."
of the security program saved KentuckyOne the stress of working with multiple providers, it also allowed the hospital to add 650 hours of coverage per week without increasing the cost of the secu- rity program.
Prior to the partnership, KentuckyOne had no minimum hiring standards for physical security personnel while the security team on- site had no pre-assignment or healthcare-specific training.
G4S introduced a blend of Custom Protection Officers (CPO) and Upscale Security Officers (USO) who are recruited and screened according to their talents, experience and background. To qualify to be a CPO or USO, security officers must hold a degree in criminal justice, police science of security administration or have law enforce- ment or military experience.
Beyond their personal backgrounds, every G4S Security Officer pro- tecting KentuckyOne underwent 80 hours of pre-assignment training specific to the healthcare environment, including CPR / First Aid & AED training and Dale Carnegie Customer Service certifications. All security officers are equipped with Secure Trax, a mobile officer-man- agement platform enabling remote check-ins, post verifications and compliance reporting. Secure Trax also allows security managers to see
10 campuslifesecurity.com | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019