Managing Security for Emergency Departments with High-Risk Patients
Hospital Emergency Departments are a truly unique environment.
Hospital Emergency Departments are a truly unique environment. They are incredibly busy, emotional rollercoasters that are often overcrowded (especially on weekend nights), frequently understaffed and open 24-hours a day to anyone who might require their services. In fact, in the U.S. the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, or EMTALA, prohibits EDs from turning anyone away who requests to be treated, regardless of their ability to pay, including those with poor temperaments or openly hostile attitudes. If the ED were only visited by people who required straightforward medical diagnosis and treatment, this alone would be challenging enough. Add family members, acquaintances and “high-risk” patients to the equation, and you have the perfect recipe for potential disaster. This is why Emergency Departments should be considered a security-sensitive area in hospitals and should be provided specialized security countermeasures including specific education for staff who work in this highly charged environment (in both clinical and non-clinical roles).
While there are many types of “high risk” patients, here we will concentrate on two particular types, the behavioral health patient being boarded for extended periods of time and the forensic/prisoner patient. Each of these patients is very different yet each poses an increased risk for workplace violence issues and other security-related concerns.