Emergency preparedness: planning considerations for a response to a bomb threat or incident.

This article discusses an important aspect of developing an incident plan for the threat of an incendiary device. The importance of integrating emergency services' providers into plan development and asking specific, detailed questions of first responders is critical in ensuring your plan is supportable and understood by all of the stakeholders involved.

Metal detectors: security vs. customer service.

The pros and cons of metal detectors in hospitals should be reviewed again, the author recommends, in light of new conditions that are making emergency departments even more violent and volatile. In this article, he reports on the results of three years employment of metal detection.

Does your hospital have a procedure for recognizing and responding to gang behavior?

Faced with a continuous increase in violent activity by gang members in and near his hospital, the author sought information from other hospitals on their procedural gang policies, but found there were none. Working with a proactive gang unit of his city's police department, he has developed a generic policy that other hospitals with similar problems can adapt.

Top 10 things every healthcare security director must get right!

For the security professional there is nothing unfamiliar about the ten issues presented by the author. Getting them right, he claims, is another matter. The article provides many recommendations and suggestions for performance improvement and liability avoidance.

Encouraging staff involvement in the security effort.

Developing greater rapport between the security department and other hospital employees is essential to a successful security effort. In this article, the author describes a number of methods which can be used to better integrate the security program into the culture of the hospital.

Hospital security: "a current look".

The results of a hospital security survey using a random sampling of hospital organizations in the AHA Membership Directory. The survey covered staffing, security attire and equipment, training, use of physical security, and bicycle patrols. No serious security staffing cutbacks have taken place in the past two years, according to survey respondents.

Effectively changing the management methodology for tornado evacuation procedures.

This article discusses how action research was used to identify, diagnose, and involve focus group members in resolving problems associated with the safe evacuation of patients and employees during imminent tornado weather. Collaboration and joint action planning among group members, says the author, resulted in new evacuation procedures that increased dependable communications among staff, ensured the continuation of good patient care, and assured the expedient and safe evacuation of patients and employees.

Encouraging growth and change by establishing trusting relationships between managers and employees.

The author discusses how trust between managers and employees must be established if managers expect employees to be committed to the organization. Trust is essential before changes can be implemented and growth can occur.

On-the-job training.

The quality of training given by the security department has a direct impact on the job performances of each security officer. The author discusses how on-the-job training can be a vital part of the training effort when done properly and effectively.

Security as a management service.

Noting that hospital security must be viewed as an element of management that supports professional patient care, the author presents a comprehensive overview of the various healthcare security functions from a service-oriented, management perspective.

The future of healthcare security management.

To survive in today's economic climate, security directors must also be good business managers. In this article, the author offers suggestions for achieving this goal.

Hospital security: is the patient at risk?

This article focuses on the safety and security of the hospital patient, especially the role of the caregiver, as an important element in today's hospital environment. The author believes that not only the nursing unit but the entire hospital employee staff must be utilized to provide a reasonably safe and secure environment for not only the patient, but the staff and visitors as well.