Security best practices noted at the ASHE conference

I just sat in on a great session by hospital security expert Fred Roll of Healthcare Security Consultants. Here are a few tidbits from his presentation:

• Make sure any hospital security vehicles flash their overhead lights at all times. Seeing the lights makes the public at least feel safer.
• Eliminate the words “ensure,” “assure,” and “insure” from your security policies because once an incident occurs and those words are in a policy, that policy has been breached. Plaintiff attorneys will likely be all over that type of slip-up should a court case ensue.
• Expect ER violence to increase as a result of healthcare reform in Washington. Generally, healthcare reform results in longer wait times in ERs, which are among the top reasons for violence in the ER.