Crisis Communication Comes of Age

Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM, By Jim Crumbley


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Once the notification to security is made in a crisis situation via an icon, Hot Key or duress button, security officers and/or their supervisors receive a text message with incident details and location. At the same time, the security control center receives a pop-up message with the same information. The dispatcher then alerts security officers via radio.

Other crisis communication systems on the market are focused on sending a large volume of text messages and/or phone calls.

Hospital security needs, however, are more fluid in nature, so local control, user-friendliness and flexibility are important.

Healthcare security directors should periodically review and test their crisis communication plans. No matter the method chosen for dissemination of information, security should ask one question; is the plan suitable for the multiple risks faced in the modern healthcare environment? If not, then perhaps it is time to consider a technological option.


Jim Crumbley, CPP, PPS, is president of Jim Crumbley Associates, Risk Response Team, a provider of risk mitigation services. He has more than 25 years of security industry experience, working throughout the U.S., Europe, The Middle East and South America. Visit www.riskresponseteam.com.

HOW DO YOU COMPARE? “Our Hospitals,” a healthcare benchmarking study from GE Security, Bradenton, Fla., and the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS), questioned security and safety personnel in hospitals covering several topics including technology, staffing, policies, procedures and budget. Here are a few results from the survey (also continuing on the following pages).

Greatest Security Needs
ANY EQUIPMENT MENTION 60%
MORE CAMERAS/NEW/UPGRADES 12%
ACCESS CONTROL 22%
TECHNOLOGY UPGRADES/NEW 11%
SURVEILLANCE/VIDEO/EQUIPMENT/MORE COVERAGE 9%
EQUIPMENT/ADDITIONS/NEW/UPGRADES 10%
CCTV SYSTEM/ENHANCEMENTS/UPGRADES 7%
COMMUNICATIONS/COMMUNICATION EQUIPMENT/RADIOS/CALL BOXES 5%
WEAPONS/TASERS 5%
ALARMS/ALARM SYSTEMS 3%
DVR UPGRADES/MORE/BETTER DVRS 2%
MORE/ADDITIONAL/QUALIFIED STAFF 52%
ANY STAFFING MENTION 57%
ADMINISTRATION/HOSPITAL STAFF MORE PROACTIVE 12%
SOURCE: GE Security

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