Hospitals & Nursing Homes

SMSI Staff Writer

08.01.03

When it comes to the adequacy of security for hospitals and nursing homes, no facilities are held to a higher standard. The courts have always held that because patients, especially pediatric and geriatric patients, are in a helpless state, they are owed a higher duty to be adequately protected.

One of the differences between healthcare facilities and other public access facilities, is that these facilities are subject to various regulations in an attempt to ensure that some minimal security standards are maintained.

As a result of the threats our country is facing since 9/11/01, hospitals find themselves on the front lines.

They find themselves both hav-ing to cope with being the potential object of an attack and at the same time, preparing to deal with a large influx of potential victims of a bio-chemical attack or worse.

As with most facilities, there are a wide range of common sense, low cost approaches that could be deployed proactively. Not all remedies require a large financial investment.