Public Health
Facilities:
A Special
Vulnerability
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"We couldn't have done it without you. Perelman Security Group clearly understands the special vulnerabilities of our organization. Your careful guidance has helped ensure that our staff is able to recognize potential problems, that we have procedures in place to deal with them effectively, and that our physical plant is as secure as possible. But what we value most is that Perelman Security Group is always there for us!"
Lois Backus, Executive Director,
Planned Parenthood
of the Columbia/Willamette (Portland, OR)
The Challenge
A help line receives an anonymous call from an anxious father. His son is about to get his results back from an HIV test. "I'm afraid if it's positive, he'll hurt the nurse," he worries...
A patient becomes infatuated with a doctor and begins to stalk her - following her home and hanging around her medical facility...
An alarmed employee at a clinic sees a woman in an examination room, her purse open, a gun clearly visible...
These are not scenarios. They are real incidents that never make the papers. And, unfortunately, they are common. High-profile clinic bombings in Alabama and Oklahoma...arson incidents in Missouri, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, North Carolina and California...and butyric acid attacks throughout the southern U.S. are only the tip of the iceburg - but they attest to the particular vulnerability of healthcare facilities and health workers. In fact, people in medical occupations account for 160,000 of all nonfatal workplace violence victims each year. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that in a typical year between 1992-96, 10,000 physicians, 70,000 nurses, 25,000 technicians and 57,000 medical personnel marked "other" were assaulted. Sadly, the number is only expected to rise.
How PSG Can Help
How secure is your health clinic? Do you know which elements of the facility's layout can make your staff more vulnerable to assault? What training have you provided staff to help them avoid assault? What are your plans for handling a stalker? Do your employees REALLY know what mail is safe to handle and which may be dangerous?
If you cannot answer these questions with confidence, it may be time to seek help. Even if your organization has never experienced an incident, statistics show it's only a matter of time. By surveying your facility, advising you of key security issues, training your staff to deal with and diffuse the problem situations, and establishing appropriate policies and procedures, Perelman Security Group can provide you with the tools necessary to create a safer and more secure environment for your facility...your personnel...and your patients.
