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The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems has designed a detailed, 172-page toolkit in collaboration with nurses and doctors associations and organized labor.

The International Association of Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS) recently released new guidance on how to help healthcare officials address visitor and patient violence in hospitals. Patient violence – whether it is physical or verbal – not only threatens human life and the well-being of hospital staff but also threatens patient safety and creates an unhealthy work environment.

A study IBM Security and conducted by Ponemon Institute found that the average cost of a data breach globally is $3.86 million, a 6.4 percent increase from the 2017 report.

The Princeton Identity IOM Access solution allows staff and residents with normal mental acuity to unlock exterior doors to exit the building by gazing into wall-mounted iris readers positioned near each exit, while restricting residents with dementia from opening the doors and leaving the building unsupervised.

Locations once considered safe havens such as schools, places of worship and healthcare institutions are no longer immune to acts of violence and, in worst case scenarios, active shooter incidents. In a webinar, Connie Packard, Executive Director of Support Services, Deputy Chief Public Safety for Boston Medical Center discussed ways that the external and internal environment can be used to mitigate risk, tools that are available to help, and standards and guidelines aimed at preventing violence.

How do enterprise security professionals ensure that if the worst should happen, they can sustain their operations indefinitely to ensure the safety of those they are called to protect?

Hospitals can be dangerous places. From 2012 to 2014, healthcare institutions reported a 40 percent increase in violent crime, with more than 10,000 incidents mostly directed at employees.