/EINPresswire.com/ DATELINE: APRIL 30, 2012 BOCA RATON, FLORIDA
International Association of Hospital Safety and Security (IAHSS) Editor, Robert Rusting recently interviewed security and risk expert, Caroline Ramsey-Hamilton for the April, 2012 issue of the IAHSS DIRECTIONS magazine.
One of the highlights of the interview included the results of a study of Florida hospitals. The reported replacement value of a hospital ranged from 50 million dollars to over 500 million, depending on size and function. To determine the value of the facility, we looked at the value of the hospital staff, the value of specialized medical equipment, the value of revenue from patient care, the
value of patient safety and health information, and you have hundreds of
millions of dollars at risk.
For risk assessment studies, each of these asset categories can potentially experience a loss that would interrupt their operations, either for a limited time (like a gang fight in the lobby; or a theft of pharmaceuticals), or permanently (for example, a catastrophic fire or damage from a hurricane).
The major increase in workplace violent incidents in hospitals was also discussed in detail, including the work being done by nursing educators and issues in emergency departments of many Level 1 hospitals (designated trauma centers).
“OSHA did nothing for a long time about workplace violence. Now that workplace violence of hospitals is eight times that of any other industry, they have to do something and one of the things they want to see is a basic workplace violence assessment annually.”
There are also an increasing number of states (30) which require assessments on workplace violence and a lot of them are specifically for hospitals. They are making
it a felony to assault a health care worker and they require an assessment every year or two. Assessment elements are our most popular webinar topics. Such assessments can be part of a hospital’s overall security assessment report or done separately, in addition to other security assessments, such as safety assessment, life safety assessments and hazard assessments.
READ THE INTERVIEW HERE:
http://www.caroline-hamilton.com/Papers/IAHSS-DIRECTIONS-MAR012_(1-2).pdf
Caroline Ramsey-Hamilton is an expert in security risk analysis and security risk assessment and works with a variety of companies,, including some of the largest U.S. hospitals, specializing in security risk assessment software and services.
In 2012, she created a special risk model for hospitals to prevent workplace violence incidents. It has been used internationally because the increase in violence is not limited to the USA but extends to the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
Hamilton received a lifetime achievement aware from the Anti-Terrorism Certification Board. She is a member of the ASIS Physical Security Council, the ASIS Information Security Technology Council, the Security Risk Assessment Association (SARMA), Infragard and IAHSS, (International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety). She is a graduate of the University of California, Riverside and lives in south Florida.
For more information, contact:
Caroline Ramsey-Hamilton
caroline.r.hamilton@gmail.com
www.caroline-hamilton.com
