Healthy Security Proposal

Feb 1, 2008 12:00 PM, Larry Anderson, Editor

Looking at the broad picture of Homeland security, one cannot overstate the importance of the country's hospitals and health care facilities in responding to emergencies. Whether the threat is a chemical or biological attack, a natural disaster or almost any other kind of incident, the role of our hospitals is always top-of-mind.

Ironically, then, according to the Security Industry Association (SIA), that there isn't a significant federal grant program that can be used by health care facilities to acquire electronic physical security equipment to protect patients, staff, visitors and critical care facilities.

It's an oversight that SIA, along with the International Association of Health Care Security and Safety (IAHSS), is seeking to remedy by proposing a “health care facility grant program” to provide federal funding to conduct security assessments and to acquire physical security equipment such as access control, locks and video surveillance. The organizations propose authorization of $500 million for electronic physical security devices at more than 5,000 hospitals nationwide.

Even absent federal funding, hospitals and health care facilities have been proactive in using the latest technologies to protect their facilities, and many have been very innovative in their use of technology in the interest of security (see our special section on hospitals this month starting on page 16).

Arguably, for all its flaws, our health care system in the United States is the best in the world. So should be its security systems; the nation should settle for nothing less.

We welcome your feedback:
E-mail landerson@securitysolutions.com

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