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The International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS) gathered in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on May 4th through May 8th for their 45th Annual General Meeting and Conference with a healthy dose of presentations, including:
- Creating a Center of Influence in Combating Workplace Violence
- Global Harmonized System – Classification and Labeling of Chemicals
- Mass Notification Systems and Application for Risk Reduction
- Security Offsite: Responsibilities & Approaches for Home Health, Hospital & Clinic Workers
- Lessons Learned from the Boston Marathon Bombing – the Hospital Perspective
- Drug Diversion: A Collaborative Process-Driven Approach to Managing Diversion
- OSINT Online: Are You Aware of the New Mediums for Investigations
- Use of Force and Patient Restraint
- An Amazing Journey through Cybercrime
- Evacuation Panel: Best Practices
All of the presentations were interesting and very topical, but with the conference just a few days after the Boston Marathon bombing, the presentation on lessons learned was exceptional.
Boston hospitals did a phenomenal job of handling the day’s tragic events and life-changing injuries. Looking back, all hospitals could benefit from their success and lessons learned in the need to always be prepared for the unexpected.
1 – Practice, practice, practice. Hospital policies and procedures are vital components to the daily life of the security director, but there is always something new to learn. The sheer amount of people (civilians), medical professionals, and law enforcement professionals put added stress on the system, those well rehearsed procedures, and the human spirit.
2 – Technology was a valuable assistant, in helping to understand threat locations (due to the volume of people and potential threats), as well as supporting the movement of people throughout the facilities and campus.
3 – The strength of the security function is based on collaboration, communication and relationships. This was certainly true and evident in the tremendous work by the various hospital security departments and law enforcement personnel / departments.
How has your hospital changed security policies and procedures since the Boston Marathon Bombing? Share your comments below.
