Streamlining Healthcare Security
KentuckyOne partners with security providers to identify and mitigate potential risks
- By Kim Rahfaldt
- February 01, 2019
Hospitals and healthcare facilities are some of the
most active public spaces in the United States, and
while most facilities strive to maintain a welcoming
atmosphere, without protective measures this
open-door policy can make them vulnerable to
criminal activity. For KentuckyOne Healthcare System—a part of the
Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) family of hospitals and one of the
largest and most comprehensive health systems in the Commonwealth
of Kentucky—finding a security provider that could address
the site-specific challenges and deliver qualified security personnel
was daunting.
Working with five separate security providers, as well as an in-house
team to secure more than 20 hospitals, KentuckyOne sought to consolidate
their security team under one roof to streamline operations.
KentuckyOne selected G4S Secure Solutions (USA) and AMAG
Technology to address KentuckyOne’s unique environment, population,
community served and related risks. While G4S brought highlytrained
and experienced security personnel to KentuckyOne’s hospitals,
AMAG brought innovative security technology, RISK360, which
provided real-time incident reporting and case management, allowing
stakeholders to report, track and resolve incidents and identify
and mitigate potential risks.
Working with different security providers at multiple locations
also led to challenges in leadership and accountability within the
security system. If the hospital faced an issue at one location and a
second issue at another, they did not have a single point of contact
who could address their concerns. G4S implemented a leadership
structure that supported the entire system. Now, when a pain point
comes up, the security team has a single contact who can address
the issue, rather than the headache of multiple phone calls to determine
who can help solve a problem. And while the consolidation
of the security program saved KentuckyOne the stress of working
with multiple providers, it also allowed the hospital to add 650
hours of coverage per week without increasing the cost of the security
program.
Prior to the partnership, KentuckyOne had no minimum hiring
standards for physical security personnel while the security team onsite
had no pre-assignment or healthcare-specific training.
G4S introduced a blend of Custom Protection Officers (CPO) and
Upscale Security Officers (USO) who are recruited and screened
according to their talents, experience and background. To qualify to
be a CPO or USO, security officers must hold a degree in criminal
justice, police science of security administration or have law enforcement
or military experience.
Beyond their personal backgrounds, every G4S Security Officer protecting
KentuckyOne underwent 80 hours of pre-assignment training
specific to the healthcare environment, including CPR / First Aid &
AED training and Dale Carnegie Customer Service certifications. All
security officers are equipped with Secure Trax, a mobile officer-management
platform enabling remote check-ins, post verifications and
compliance reporting. Secure Trax also allows security managers to see where security officers are located and realtime
incident reporting.
Stakeholders faced inconsistent reporting
and a lack of visibility to the data.
AMAG’s RISK360 incident and case management
system captures data and converts
it into information that can be used to
investigate and resolve incidents. The program
eliminated cost inconsistencies and
inefficient communications by outlining a
workflow from start to finish.
RISK360 also aided dispatch by identifying
the closest available responder to deploy to an
event, improving efficiencies and saving valuable
time. Additionally, the program tracked
the financial impact of an event and the investigative
process to resolve an incident.
With trained and experienced security
officers on-site and increased security technology
and reporting, security incidents
decreased while post coverage and response
times increased. The security of the environment
was enhanced as well, as the security
personnel understood and addressed the client’s
unique challenges.
The continuous improvements to the
security program worked to further strengthen
the relationship between KentuckyOne,
G4S and AMAG, creating peace of mind and
a safer, more secure healthcare system
throughout the KentuckyOne Healthcare
System. By elevating hiring and training
standards and delivering strong leadership
and technology-enabled accountability, KentuckyOne
accomplished its mission to bring
wellness, healing and hope to all.
“Our partnership with G4S and AMAG
has been a tremendous win for the security
of our campuses,” said Gregg Dobbs, National
Physical Security Manager for CHI. “We
are efficiently furthering the safety of our
patients, visitors and employees. I truly
believe that what we are going to accomplish
in the end will serve not only as a model of
CHI to emulate, but can ultimately be the
envy of the industry.”
This article originally appeared in the January/February 2019 issue of Campus Security Today.
About the Author
Kim Rahfaldt is Director of Media Relations at AMAG Technology, Inc., based in Torrance, Calif.