Florida Hospital Upgrades Security, Ensures Safety of Patients

Florida Hospital Upgrades Security, Ensures Safety of Patients

The hospital recently began phasing in additional security measures, including reducing the number of entry points.

A number of high profile incidents at hospitals around the country has put medical facilities on high alert in recent months. For Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, Florida, increasing security was a matter of ensuring patient safety.

"That's why Flagler Hospital leaders have spent the past nine months working to enhance the overall security of our campus, while continuing to provide a welcoming environment for patients and their loved ones," Flagler Hospital President and CEO Jason Barrett said in an email to a local news station. "We are working diligently to achieve balance between convenience and safety. We are committed to creating the safest, most prepared and responsive environment we can, with the hope that the need for it will never arise."

The hospital has made several changes, the most obvious being the main entrance, where a security officer screens each and every person that enters and asks for a government-issued ID. A background search is conducted digitally before a visitor is issued a badge with their photo and place of destination printed on it.

On average, Flagler Hospital issues about 400 badges a day. If a background check presents any red flags, such as previous arrests or an outstanding warrant, law enforcement is called in. In some cases, the individual will still be allowed to visit, but with an officer by their side.

In addition to the new visitor management system, the hospital is continuously upgrading their surveillance systems and adding new security cameras while evolving hospital policies to ensure better safety and security.

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • Cloud Adoption Gives Way to Hybrid Deployments

    Cloud adoption is growing at an astonishing rate, with Gartner forecasting that worldwide public cloud end-user spending will approach $600 billion by the end of this year—an increase of more than 21% over 2022. McKinsey believes that number could eclipse $1 trillion by the end of the decade, further underscoring the industry’s exponential growth. Read Now

  • AI on the Edge

    Discussions about the merits (or misgivings) around AI (artificial intelligence) are everywhere. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find an article or product literature without mention of it in our industry. If you’re not using AI by now in some capacity, congratulations may be in order since most people are using it in some form daily even without realizing it. Read Now

  • Securing the Future

    In an increasingly turbulent world, chief security officers (CSOs) are facing a multitude of challenges that threaten the stability of businesses worldwide. Read Now

    • Guard Services
  • Security Entrances Move to Center Stage

    Most organizations want to show a friendly face to the public. In today’s world, however, the need to keep people safe and secure has become a prime directive when designing and building facilities of all kinds. Fortunately, there is no need to construct a fortress-like entry that provides that high level of security. Today’s secured entry solutions make it possible to create a welcoming, attractive look and feel at the entry without compromising security. It is for this reason that security entrances have moved to the mainstream. Read Now

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge. 3

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles. 3

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area. 3