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Healthcare Security Weekly

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Healthcare Security Weekly

Issue 35, September 22, 2008

• Notice: Continue to get all your safety and security news in Hospital Safety Connection

  Given the close connection between safety and security in healthcare, we’ve combined our...

• Murder charges filed in death of hospital security guard

  A Springfield, MO, man has been charged with murder in the death of a hospital security guard who...

• Patient sues hospital after alleged sex assault

  A patient, who says she was allegedly sexually assaulted by a nursing assistant in a hospital...

• Tip of the week: Control the movement of personnel during an emergency

  Joint Commission emergency management standards require that hospitals control the movement of...

Issue 34, September 15, 2008

• Investigation continues into murder of hospital security guard

  Portland (ME) police are continuing their investigation into the murder of a 27-year-old security...

• Jury awards $5.5 million in shooting outside hospital

  A jury awarded $5.5 million to the family of a parking lot attendant killed outside Hahnemann...

• Missouri hospital to stop officers from carrying Tasers

  Safety and security officers at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, MO, will no longer carry...

• Tip of the week: Conduct an annual evaluation

  The lack of an annual management program or an annual program summary can get your hospital into...

Issue 33, September 1, 2008

• Man pleads guilty to ethnic intimidation of security guard

  A Sharon, PA, man pleaded guilty August 19 to ethnic intimidation and disorderly conduct following...

• Infant abductions from hospitals reduced

  Better security measures have resulted in fewer infant abductions from hospitals in the United...

• Man stabbed and beaten outside hospital

  Police are investigating the discovery of a man who was found stabbed and beaten August 10 in a...

• Physician fired after allegedly working while drunk

  A Massachusetts physician was fired after he tried to give a pregnant woman an epidural while he...

• Boy found after going missing from hospital

  Security officers found an 11-year-old boy who ran away from St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis...

• Ghost busters arrested at hospital

  Two men, who said they were looking for ghosts at Westboro (MA) State Hospital, were arrested by...

• Tip of the week: Drill for internal disasters

  Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, IA, evacuated on June 13 after floodwaters rose on its...

• Tip of the week: Plan for communication backup in emergencies

  When it comes to emergency planning, Mercy Medical Center in Cedar Rapids, IA, got a reality test...

Issue 32, August 25, 2008

• Mental hospital fatality; patient left in chair for 22 hours

  A psychiatric patient died at a North Carolina state mental hospital after workers left him in a...

• Bronx hospital security guard says EMTs beat him

  A security guard at a Bronx, NY, hospital says two irate city emergency medical technicians (EMTs...

• Lawsuit filed by widow of slain security officer

  The widow of a hospital security guard killed by a jail inmate as he escaped the facility, has...

• Tip of the week: Get familiar with 2009 standards

  The Joint Commission’s revised EC standards and new life safety and emergency management (EM...

Issue 31, August 18, 2008

• Police arrest accused hospital thief

  Police in Austin, TX, have captured a man they say is responsible for stealing purses and wallets...

• New father jailed after hospital scuffle

  Police arrested a Reading, PA, man who got into a scuffle with a maternity nurse because he...

• Suicides prompt protocol review at Tampa hospital

  Officials at a Tampa, FL, hospital are reviewing safety protocols and procedures after two...

• Tip of the week: New research suggests RFID risks

  A study and accompanying editorial in the June 25 Journal of the American Medical Association...

Issue 30, August 11, 2008

• Hospital security guard dies from injuries

  A hospital security officer who was allegedly attacked by a patient on Saturday, August 2, has died...

• CDC says average ER wait time nears one hour

  The average time that hospital patients wait in the emergency department for treatment has...

• Security increased at nursing home after threat

  Security has been increased at a San Francisco nursing home for U.S. veterans after a worker at...

• Tip of the week: Education by any means necessary

  One way to educate hospital staff is through constant communication in every outlet the hospital...

Issue 29, August 4, 2008

• Minister sues hospital and security guards

  An Ohio minister has filed suit against a Toledo hospital and a group of security guards he says...

• Woman charged with leaving dog in hot car in hospital parking lot

  A teenager is facing charges after she allegedly left her Chihuahua in parked car for more than 45...

• Door kills thief at India hospital

  An apparent thief who sneaked into a hospital in India ran out of luck. The man was killed July 27...

• Tip of the week: Customize training to specific departments

  For several years, environment of care (EC) competency requirements have been under the purview of...

Issue 28, July 28, 2008

• Elderly man beaten by hospital roommate

  Police have charged a 48-year-old man with attempted homicide after he allegedly beat his elderly...

• Rapper arrested in hospital fraud

  Law enforcement authorities arrested the rapper DMX on suspicion of giving a false name and Social...

• Health system agrees to pay $100,000 for HIPAA violations

  Hospitals that aren’t taking the security of patients’ medical information seriously...

• Tip of the week: Prepare with helicopter crash drills

  Four helicopter crashes within a 30-day span in May and June have only reemphasized the need to...

Issue 27, July 21, 2008

• Cause of death found in NY patient who died unnoticed on hospital floor

  According to the New York City Medical Examiner a woman who died unnoticed on the floor of a New...

• New father jailed for lewd behavior at hospital

  A Lynn, Massachusetts man was sentenced to 30 days in jail after he admitted that he engaged in...

• Attacks on nurses drawing attention

  Half of all non-fatal workplace assaults occur in healthcare and social service settings with...

• Tip of the week: Prepare frontline workers for surveyor questions

  As part of the May Joint Commission survey at Graham Hospital in Canton, IL, surveyors conducted a...

Issue 26, July 14, 2008

• Controversy in San Francisco about proposed change in hospital security

  A proposal to replace sheriff’s deputies and specially trained officers with private security...

• Lawsuit settled in alleged hospital beating

  A lawsuit brought against Cook County in Illinois by an elderly stroke victim who said he was...

• Doctor decides not to fight extradition from U.S.

  An Indian surgeon accused of manslaughter in the deaths of patients in Australia has decided not to...

• Tip of the week: Expect scrutiny on 96-hour prep work

  Midland (TX) Memorial Hospital underwent a Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) life safety survey in...

Issue 25, July 7, 2008

• Security guard charged with promoting cop-killing in YouTube video

  Police arrested a security guard—who worked at a hospital where a Philadelphia police officer...

• British physician suspended after searching for pornography on hospital computers

  A physician, allegedly addicted to hardcore pornography, was suspended for nine months after he...

• Woman wipes blood on security guards

  Police in Woodstock, IL arrested a 44-year-old woman and charged her with two counts of aggravated...

• Tip of the week: Sharpen safety practices around hospital helipads

  The midair collision of two medical helicopters trying to land at the Flagstaff Medical Center...

Issue 24, June 30, 2008

• Man sentenced to death for murdering unarmed hospital guard

  A Montgomery (VA) County Circuit judge sentenced William Morva, 26, to death on June 23 for killing...

• Wireless hospital systems can disrupt medical devices

  Wireless systems used by many hospital to keep track of and help prevent the theft of medical...

• Security at hospital heightened as actress goes home with new baby

  Security was a top priority at the Mississippi Southwest Regional Medical Centre in McCoomb where...

Issue 23, June 16, 2008

• National Guard helps with security at flooded hospital

  The flooding in Indiana has devastated the Columbus (IN) Regional Hospital, which was forced to...

• Police respond to hospital after mock hostage drill miscue

  It was only a drill, but an employee from another facility, who didn’t realize that a mock...

• The urge to kill

  A study has found that one in 20 patients have had the urge to kill their physician.

• Hospital security tightened to give freed hostages privacy

  Tighter security measures were put in place at the Medical City in the Philippines where freed...

• Hospital billing records stolen from courier's vehicle

  Billing records of 2.2 million people at the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics were stolen...

• Legal round-up

  A Canadian judge June 18 sentenced a Northern Ontario woman to five years in prison for the...

• Tip of the week: Helipad certification acts as liability buffer

  While a hospital helipad can be an important cog in quickly saving a life, helicopter landings and...

• Tip of the week: Involve IT in disaster plans

  As part of disaster planning, particularly the 96-hour provision under Joint Commission (formerly...

Issue 22, June 9, 2008

• Security officer stops attack on ED nurse

  A security officer rushed to rescue a nurse who was allegedly attacked by a patient in the...

• Man pretending to be doctor arrested at hospital

  Police arrested a 27-year-old man who posed as an emergency department physician at a Georgia...

• Phony hospital worker molested two patients

  Police in Fort Worth, TX, are searching for a man, who posed as a hospital worker, and is accused...

• Tip of the week: Seek outside help with emergency prep work

  One of the requirements under Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) standard EC.4.15 (safety and...

Issue 21, June 2, 2008

• Helicopter crashes on hospital roof

  A pilot and passenger escaped with their lives after a helicopter crashed on the roof of the...

• Helicopter crashes on hospital roof

  A pilot and passenger escaped with their lives after a helicopter crashed on the roof of the...

• Security association seeks feedback on guidelines

  The International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS) is seeking feedback on two...

• Do Tasers effect heart rhythms?

  If your security officers carry Taser guns, you may be interested in a case reported by U.S...

• Tip of the week: Select topics for your HVA

  The Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) requires hospitals to use a hazards vulnerability analysis...

Issue 20, May 19, 2008

• Three arrested after fight at ER

  A fight that police described as bordering “on a riot,” led to three arrests at the...

• Paparazzi create security problems at Austrian hospital

  Photographers, trying to get pictures of Austrian incest victim Elizabeth Fritzl and her family...

• Security guards allegedly stole from patients

  Two former security guards at the Jersey City Medical Center will go on trial later in May for...

• New law in West Virginia to protect hospital workers from violence

  Under a new law, which will take effect in West Virginia June 9, people who attack hospital workers...

• Thief steals family photos from dying woman on Mother's Day

  While family members visited a woman dying of cancer at a San Jose, CA hospital May 11, someone...

• Sword-swinging man arrested at Virginia hospital

  A 57-year-old man, who was swinging a sword and reportedly wearing a ninja outfit, was arrested at...

• Tip of the week: Observe ADA rules

  The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) says you need to assess whether employees or potential...

• Tip of the week: Involve facility managers in emergency planning

  When it comes to emergency planning, make sure your facility managers are involved in that process...

Issue 19, May 12, 2008

• Hospital ERs unprepared to handle terrorist attacks

  Nearly seven years after 9/11, the country’s ERs and hospitals are not prepared to deal with...

• Security guards strike at some Kaiser hospitals

  Contract security officers walked off the job at 16 Kaiser Permanente medical facilities in...

• Four hospital employees charged for failing to report rape

  Prosecutors in Scottsdale, AZ filed charges against four hospital employees who allegedly failed to...

• Tip of the week: Work with community in emergency planning

  Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) standards require hospitals to establish response efforts when...

Issue 18, May 5, 2008

• Ex-hospital worker charged with selling celebrities' medical information

  A former employee of the U.C.L.A. Medical Center was indicted on charges she accessed medical...

• Safety concerns for Ontario nurses

  A patient waiting in the emergency department of the Rouge Valley Centenary Hospital in...

• Security officer slashed at hospital

  A security officer at Mercy Hospital in Scranton, PA suffered a two-inch gash to his wrist after a...

• Tip of the week: Test your HVA with drills

  As required in Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) standard EC.4.20, test your hazard vulnerability...

Issue 17, April 28, 2008

• NY Senate passes bill to protect nurses from workplace violence

  A bill designed to protect nurses from workplace violence and abuse was recently passed by the New...

• Hospital tightens security after baby kidnapping

  Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford has taken numerous steps to tighten security after a...

• Man who impersonated a priest arrested

  With help from the TV show “America’s Most Wanted,” a man who impersonated a...

• Tip of the week: Be careful when recycling electronics

  Hospitals replace a lot of electronic gear. The challenge for those in charge of environmental...

Issue 16, April 21, 2008

• Wisconsin man arrested at hospital for gun possession

  Police arrested a 46-year-old Wisconsin man April 12 for allegedly carrying a concealed weapon and...

• Worker charged with stealing patient information

  A 38-year-old Brooklyn man who worked in the admissions department at a prestigious Manhattan...

• Former hospital security guard and others charged in ID scheme

  In another case of identity fraud, a former Rhode Island Hospital security guard and three former...

• Tip of the week: Watch for prisoner patients in MRI rooms

  The Joint Commission recently issued a Sentinel Event Alert about MRI safety. The Alert, in part...

Issue 15, April 14, 2008

• Nosy workers get California hospital in hot water

  The head of California’s health department told The New York Times that the agency plans to...

• Inmate escapes from hospital

  A Cook County Jail inmate, who was handcuffed to a crutch, overpowered a correctional officer on...

• Man makes life difficult for police, security officers

  A man, who has pretended to be a physician at two Florida hospitals, has filed restraining orders...

• Tip of the week: Involve many people in disaster preparedness

  At its best, hazard vulnerability analysis (HVA) development is a good group exercise that probably...

Issue 14, April 7, 2008

• Fatal shooting at Georgia hospital

  A Columbus, GA hospital is reassessing its security procedures after a fatal shooting March 27.

• Woman kidnaps baby from Florida hospital

  A woman accused of abducting a day-old baby boy from a Sanford, FL, hospital apparently followed a...

• Security guard and suspect both arrested

  A hospital security guard and the man he tried to detain were both arrested in Shreveport, LA...

• Tip of the week: Show support for more grant money

  Two security associations are banding together to push Congress to authorize $500 million in grants...

Issue 13, March 31, 2008

• Prisoner escapes from Massachusetts hospital

  A massive search took place in New Bedford, MA, after a prisoner, accused of raping a teenager and...

• Suspect indicted in hospital rape

  A Hamilton County Grand Jury on March 26 indicted a suspect accused in a rape at University...

• Man rides horse into Hawaii hospital to visit father

  The hospital has a pet visitation policy, but one man went too far when he rode a horse into the...

• Tip of the week: Keep up documentation for survey satisfaction

  It's important that hospitals prepare documents for their Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) survey.

Issue 12, March 24, 2008

• HCPro, Inc. launches new logo and tagline as part of its new corporate branding initiative

  HCPro, Inc. is launching a new corporate branding campaign designed to reflect the company’s...

• Hospital bans cell phones because of privacy concerns

  A psychiatric hospital within the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) health system has...

• Man killed by police after threatening to blow himself up inside hospital

  A man in a wheelchair, who went into a Boulder, CO hospital and claimed he had a bomb, died after...

• Tip of the week: When doing rounds report any problems with pests

  Pigeons, rodents, ants, and other pests are more than just nuisances as spring rolls around. These...

Issue 11, March 17, 2008

• Inmate guilty of murder in killings of security guard and deputy

  A Virginia jury on March 11 convicted inmate William Morva of capital murder for killing a hospital...

• Man killed in gunfight outside hospital emergency room

  A man was killed in a shooting March 8 in the parking lot outside the entrance to the Coliseum...

• Nurse tampers with fentanyl vials

  A Minnesota hospital has already made some changes to its security procedures after a nurse was...

• Tip of the week: Hospitals hire an emergency management coordinator

  Emergency planning is taking on a life of its own in many hospitals, just like the safety officer's...

Issue 10, March 10, 2008

• Jury seated in capital murder trial

  A jury was selected late last week in the capital murder trial of an escaped inmate accused of...

• Thief steals rings from elderly patient

  A thief robbed a 91-year-old woman of three heirloom rings as she lay in bed at a Vancouver...

• Guard finds worker misbehaving with vacuum cleaner

  A security guard at a London hospital reported finding a construction worker, who was supposed to...

• Tip of the week: Educate staff about basic infection control practices

  It's possible that all staff members at your hospitals aren't on the same page regarding infection...

Issue 9, March 3, 2008

• Baby found by security guard pronounced dead

  Denver police are investigating the death of a baby girl found by a security guard in a basket...

• Patient bites hospital security guard

  A woman who felt she wasn't getting prompt care at a Milwaukee hospital attacked a security guard...

• Tip of the week: Limit legal liabilities in your disaster plans

  The more details your hospital builds into its evacuation plan, the more likely you can mitigate an...

Issue 8, February 25, 2008

• Suspect in therapist's killing also charged in hospital assault

  The man who is accused of murdering a Manhattan therapist was in court days before the attack when...

• Three security officers rescue residents from fire

  Three security officers from Waterbury Hospital in Waterbury, CT came to the rescue of residents...

• Police officers cleared in shooting outside hospital

  Two police officers who shot and killed a distraught man who threatened to detonate a hand grenade...

• Tip of the week: Educate staff about MRSA

  Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is and always was an employee safety matter-in...

Issue 7, February 18, 2008

• Security officer fired after allegedly making threats

  A 54-year-old security officer at Lawrence (MA) General Hospital was arrested on the job February...

• Hospital prepping for upcoming Lopez birth?

  As security directors know, a celebrity patient always poses unique challenges for hospitals. So is...

• Security guard hits woman with car

  A security guard at Banner Estrella Medical Center in Phoenix was on patrol February 13 when he...

• Tip of the week: Categorize incident reports

  One way Kent Hospital in Warwick, RI zeros in on safety issues is by collecting incident reports. A...

Issue 6, February 11, 2008

• Employee charged with embezzling money from hospital

  A former marketing assistant allegedly embezzled more than $100,000 from a Columbus, OH hospital by...

• Pickpockets target several South Carolina hospitals

  Pickpockets have targeted people in hospital elevators at several South Carolina hospitals...

• Death ruled a homicide

  The Jefferson County Coroner's Office has ruled the death of a man who died in December after a...

• Tip of the week: Make sure staff know what codes mean

  If your hospital’s system of codes is confusing or vague to staff members, maybe it’s...

Issue 5, February 4, 2008

• Hospital worker charged in credit fraud

  A worker at a New Jersey hospital was arrested for allegedly selling the identities of at least 45...

• State hospital gets preliminary denial of accreditation

  The Lincoln Regional Center, a state psychiatric hospital in Nebraska, has been issued a...

• Inmate gets life sentence for killing guard

  A judge on January 28 sentenced a 22-year-old Baltimore City man to life without parole for the...

• Tip of the week: Assure employees of a safe workplace

  Just as it's impossible to truly predict which type of emergency will affect your region--or worse...

Issue 4, January 28, 2008

• New Jersey law requires violence prevention programs

  A new law passed in New Jersey will require hospitals and nursing homes to establish violence...

• Hospital reviews security after patient suicide

  Officials at St. Patrick Hospital in Missoula, MT are reviewing security measures following the...

• Judge rules hospital not liable for lewd photos

  A DuPage County judge ruled that Edwards Hospital in Naperville, IL is not responsible for the...

• Tip of the week: Responsibility for preventing workplace violence varies

  Who is responsible for workplace violence prevention in hospitals?

Issue 3, January 21, 2008

• Man escapes hospital wearing gown and diaper

  A 45-year-old Dayton, OH man, who was being held by the Montgomery County Sheriff's office, fled...

• K-9's patrol with hospital security

  Two canines named Kilo and Achilles are part of the security force at Scripps Mercy Hospital in...

• Police officer, security officials arrested in sting

  Sixty people, including a police officer, a security director for an area hospital, a school...

• Tip of the week: Take stock of listed chemicals

  The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has finalized its rules on a federal initiative that...

Issue 2, January 14, 2008

• Security guard tackles man with two grenades

  A security guard's quick action is credited with stopping a 44-year-old man with a history of...

• Hospital security guard not guilty in assault of doctor

  A security guard from the University of Maryland Medical Center was found not guilty January 8 of...

• Maryland hospital refuses inmate patients

  Until security issues are resolved, a Laurel, MD hospital, from which a state prison inmate made a...

• Tip of the week: Look at how long your facility can survive a disaster

  Effective January 1, the Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) has put in place some new emergency...

Issue 1, January 7, 2008

• Prisoner dies in shootout after escaping hospital

  Officials are looking at how inmates are handled when outside prison walls after an escape January...

• New Year begins with smoking ban at Idaho hospital

  It's a common New Year's resolution made by many people: to quit smoking. In this case, a South...

• Emergency department patient charged with hate crime

  Police charged a St. George, VT man with committing a hate crime after he was rushed to the...

• Tip of the week: Look closely at suicide risks

  To keep Joint Commission (formerly JCAHO) surveyors satisfied, hospitals should take a close look...

Issue 7, March 3, 2008

• Officers thwart inmate's attempted escape

  Four correctional officers and at least two hospital security officers successfully restrained a...

Issue 5, February 5, 2008

• CMS Transmittals and MLN Matters articles

  CMS Transmittals and MLN Matters articles