Page 54 - Security Today, March 2020

Transforming Healthcare Security Understanding what situations need to be addressed
BSy Pat Scheckel
ecurity is a top priority at healthcare facilities across the country, but developing and deploy- ing an effective healthcare security strategy is a challenging process. Leaders need to work with multiple departments to understand what situa-
tions need to be addressed and how everyone can work together to keep patients, staff and visitors safe.
The key to any strong security solution is good communica- tion. That can be communication between departments, as well as how information is communicated throughout a facility. That’s why so many healthcare organizations are deploying mass notifi- cation systems to help share information during security events.
Using Existing Technology to
Reach Everyone
During an emergency, two substantial challenges are reaching everyone who needs to receive a message and getting that mes- sage out quickly. A mass notification system helps solve both of these issues by making it easier to activate urgent messages and having it reach devices that are already in place throughout many healthcare facilities.
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One of the reasons healthcare organizations are turning to mass notification systems is because of its ability to integrate with existing technology. IP phones in rooms, IP speakers in hallways, desktop computers at nurses’ stations, and digital signage in visi- tor areas are just some of the devices that can leveraged for audio and text alerts throughout a facility.
Depending on how robust the system is, this functionality could be extended to mobile devices and other pieces of technol- ogy. This same ecosystem can also be used to trigger notifications, with added integrations to devices like panic buttons.
All of these factors contribute to one of the biggest advan- tages of a mass notification system, flexibility. The more ways you can reach people, the less likely it is that they miss a message, and the easier you make it to trigger a message, the more quickly people can begin responding.
This flexibility extends to a healthcare organization’s ability to plan for any kind of security event their organization is likely to en- counter. Message templates can be built well in advance of an event and loaded into the system to be deployed at a moment’s notice.
It also gives administrators the opportunity to develop groups for delivering mass notifications. This means they can choose
MASS NOTIFICATION
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