During the last 15 years, I have been in and out of the doors of more than 20 hospitals. It is inevitable in American life that we eventually find ourselves there. My observations are personal. The birth of my children. A two-year struggle as my wife battled to overcome cancer. A fishing hook penetrated my buddy’s hand. The birth of my grandchild. I got bit by a spider. Relatives are sick and dying. I had AFIB. My friend almost died from Diabetes. Most recently now my spouse is a healthcare worker. The culmination of these experiences is what I write today.
Each time I walk through the doors of a hospital, I do so freely. They are unlocked every time. Sometimes I enter from a parking area, or parking garage, and sometimes into the main entrance, or emergency room. The important part is that I have never been prevented from entering, or even after entering, proceeding to the innermost parts of the facility. Sure I sometimes get an adhesive paper badge that has a terrible blacked-out picture of some rendering of my face that allows me to be preemptively admitted to certain areas that are locked down. However most of the time those in control simply release the door, (buzz me in) without much or even any conversation.
Is it that the people here are already hurt and sick so why hurt them more, and thus a locked door isn’t a concern? Is it that no one really wants to be in the hospital so everyone is mostly trying to stay out of it, so why lock all the doors? Certainly, there are valuable assets that could be stolen and are every day. There are pharmaceuticals that have been stolen to sell on the street or consumed by addicts. And there is the precious new life being born in them every hour of every day which has also been stolen. So why not lock all the doors? Should there be locked doors and more effort in place to prevent unauthorized entry at all points? Should elevators freely move up and down without access to floors? Should AI be implemented on all cameras to properly ID persons of interest that are potential unauthorized threats?
There is a security presence in hospitals. There are cameras and access control systems. There are guards or off-duty police officers serving at visitor stations. Most if not all employees are badged with access control credentials giving them access to certain areas and doors on specific days and times. Should patients and visitors be required to gain access via a form of personal identity, e.g. their phone, retina scan, government ID, etc.?
Most hospitals put a security tag on babies when they are born. They do this to prevent accidents of a child being switched at birth and to prevent the baby from being stolen from the nursery. If a baby goes out of the nursery without the mother then an alarm is triggered. Some hospitals now use birthing rooms so that the baby never leaves the mother. Similar to locking a door, there isn’t much confusion to what happens next.
In pharmacies, the technicians are not allowed to be alone in the area. The pharmacist must be present at all times. To enter the pharmacy, the pharmacist must present their security credentials first before the technicians may enter. Security exists for drug cabinets and carts for nurses who dispense the patients their prescriptions. This level of accountability eliminates risk, creates an audit trail, and helps eliminate theft.
Next time you go to a hospital, observe and be aware of the level of security. It is time to raise a higher level of awareness of security within healthcare organizations. Profit and loss take the forefront of the CEO and board members’ attention. If we demand security to protect ourselves and loved ones, then maybe we only go to hospitals that offer it. Hospitals are rated from A-F. based on their compliance with health regulations. Know your hospital rating. Why would you go to a C, D, or even F-rated facility if they don’t meet compliance objectives? Why would you submit to being in a dirty hospital?
These are thoughts and experiences to help not to hurt, to solve not to create more problems. Through awareness, we might help and solve!