Charles Figaro's drive invigorates Bayfront-St. Anthony's health care

Sep 1, 1999 12:00 PM, Kate Henry

Charles Figaro is no stranger to that business process endemic to the '90s: corporate rightsizing. In his 10-year career with some of the biggest hospitals in St. Petersburg, Fla., he has survived two corporate mergers, and thrived, emerging as director of security for two of Tampa Bay's largest hospitals, located in moderate- to high-crime areas of the city. St. Anthony's Hospital and the Bayfront Medical Center are a psychiatric receiving center and a level-two trauma center, respectively. Figaro's success is a testament to his high professional standards and commitment to cost-effective security solutions focused on the people they serve.

ACCOMMODATING CHANGE IN THE HEALTH CARE INDUSTRY "The two hospitals are really like little cities within St. Pete, which is a beautiful city, but like other big cities, burdened with crime," says Figaro.

He is responsible for security in the main hospitals, convenient care clinics, doctors offices and professional buildings, as well as for keeping an eye on on-site parking garages, restaurants and credit unions. He supervises a staff of 35, including security officers, parking attendants and valet service people.

"During the past 10 years, health care has really had to seek new opportunities because of economic issues," explains Figaro. "Because of managed care, Medicaid and Medicare cutbacks, a lot of departments have had to be re-engineered, and security has been one of them."

Figaro's solutions have been thoughtful, well-planned and largely technology-based. He has hired "fewer, but more multi-dimensionally skilled" people, and he has upgraded equipment to perform access control and surveillance functions that enable a smaller but more qualified work force.

"In one hospital, cameras and access control have saved us four or five officers checking doors," he says by way of example. "The technology has enabled us to be more cost effective in staffing while providing a higher level of security."

Morale is higher than ever, thanks to Figaro's team-building efforts. "When mergers happen, people traditionally worry about their jobs," he points out. "But through a good communication process that keeps our employees advised of what is happening, we make the employees feel better about themselves and the company." Figaro cites the support of his management as key to his own success: "This is the most rewarding job I have ever had. The people I work for are very sensitive to work-related issues and pressures. For example, our work force is 85 percent female, and our corporation has been judged one of the best 100 places in the world for a woman to work."

INNOVATIVE INITIATIVES "In the early '90s," says Figaro, "workplace violence issues were really coming to the forefront. We did a lot of research and concluded that an effective screening process would keep out people who might harm each other, patients or visitors." Figaro and his team used a "criminal justice dial-up system," which enabled them to modem into the local courthouse to get information such as driving and criminal background checks on prospective applicants. "Today the process continues with the use of more sophisticated databases," he says. Figaro has also helped institute drug-free workplace policies that provide for drug screening upon application and thereafter with cause.

"These measures ensure we get the most appropriate people in the workplace," he says.

When the issue of infant abduction from nursery wards began to loom in the national consciousness, Figaro took proactive measures to prevent it from happening at Bayfront-St. Anthony's. "We wanted to do the right thing for our patients," he explains. "By designing and implementing an integrated system of cameras, recorders, access control and tagging to track infants' whereabouts, we ensure our babies are born in a safe, secure place - as far as I know, the most secure place in this part of the United States."

He adds that a crucial part of the equation is staff awareness and staff training. "We developed policies and procedures to work in concert with the physical security measures. We even had John Rabin, director of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, come in and give us some pointers. Finally, we formed a task force to put it all together."

Figaro emphasizes that, fortunately, no crises prompted the initiatives. He puts stock in effective preplanning and research to stave off hospital crime. "Have we had some scares? Sure we have," he says, "but most of them have been domestic issues, for which we are prepared. We don't shut the barn door afterwards."

BUILDING TEAMWORK Figaro says that to help each other, team members need to trust each other. "When someone makes a mistake, I do not like people banging at my door, pointing fingers. I want them to reach out to the person who has erred, and help them. No matter what station one occupies in life's totem pole, everyone we deal with, whether the unfortunate intoxicated person who winds up on our door step, or each other, needs to be treated with dignity and respect."

He interacts with all his staff on a daily basis, and does whatever needs to be done to keep his department running smoothly. One night, that meant taking a fickle patrol car to be fixed after hours to ensure his officers got their job for the day done.

Figaro is also mindful of compensation and benefits issues. "I am not a micro-manager, but I expect my management and supervisors to be very attentive to such things, because they can affect performance and morale."

To Figaro, team-building means really caring about the people with whom you work. With health care being in a nationwide recession, he says, the challenge is to uphold the security mission, doing the right thing for the hospital in the most cost-effective way possible. "We need to provide a consistently high level of protection and safety to our patients, visitors and staff, while supporting patient care." He adds that when a patient comes through the door of the hospital, every department has to support providing them with the best care possible.

In the future, Figaro will continue the focus of his work: providing a safe environment with the tools and budget he is given. He also wants his people to strive to be educators. "The days of the old night watchman and the door shaker are over," he says. "I have former law enforcement officers on staff who have brought diversity to the department with their skills as investigators and fraud examiners, as well as people with public relations and planning and research backgrounds. It is critical to our long-range plans to use highly trained, but fewer staff."

Figaro's drive to help others spills over into his leisure time. He is active in the Center Against Spousal Abuse, a past board member of the Uptown Neighborhood Association and a fund-raiser for Alpha House, Resurrection House and the United Way. He is also a board member for the St. Petersburg Transportation Initiative, which seeks to invigorate the community and its economy.

A former police officer, Figaro has a bachelor's degree in police science, and is a certified fraud examiner, certified security professional, certified criminal justice professional and a certified protection officer.

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