There are numerous areas to secure in today’s medical facilities. Outside doors, of course, must offer protection against unauthorized access by patients, visitors, employees and outsiders. Similarly, doors to wards, rooms and offices must be safeguarded. But that is only the beginning of the story. There is also a growing need to restrict access to medicine storage cabinets, medicine carts, computers, medical records systems, ambulances and even parking lots.

The University of Colorado Hospital, located east of Denver in Aurora, CO, is one of the leading hospitals in the nation. In 2011, UCH was ranked as the best hospital in the Denver metropolitan area and in the top 10 nationally for Best Medical Schools: Primary Care by US News and World Report.

With threats of terrorism, political chaos, riots, kidnappings, and growing street crime, today’s international business travelers need to be aware of their surroundings and keep their guard up at all times to maintain personal safety. Navigating even the safest and most developed regions of the world, or those perceived to be, has become more challenging than ever. From Europe to Asia and even in our own back yard, events that can easily put an unsuspecting or unprepared business traveler in harm’s way. As a security officer or manager for your company, you worry about the safety of your business travelers. However, following a few basic tips will help both you and those traveling feel more comfortable and prepared, wherever business may take them.

The process of notifying affected populations in the event of a data breach is complex and littered with potential land mines – handled poorly, the notification can be a black eye for an organization and potentially open them up to regulatory fines or sanctions. Brian Lapidus and his team at Kroll have assembled the following advice for businesses to help them minimize their risk and simplify what has become a very challenging process.

 

Economic downturns typically result in an influx of foreclosed, vacant, idle, and even completely abandoned properties. This affects a range of business sectors—including habitation and office facilities, factories, schools, hospitals and retail.

“Do more with less.” That’s pretty much the message security managers and IT directors hear these days. On the one hand, security now ranks high on the agenda of most organizations; on the other, shrinking budgets pose a real challenge to deploying the security and surveillance systems they need. Fortunately, when you take a deeper and longer-term look at the economics of surveillance systems, a different picture can emerge — one that makes a lot more sense from a financial point of view.

Protection is a core mission of the security department, whether protecting facilities, people or assets. Now it's time for security to embrace an additional protection mission and to incorporate it into every aspect of security operations. Let's look at how the security department can help to protect the environment.

Our nation's continued budget woes are taking a toll at all levels of government, including local cities and counties that are struggling with higher costs, lower tax revenue collections and sometimes dwindling state and federal aid. The result is a need to look for lower-cost and less-labor-intensive ways to address a range of government security and law enforcement needs. When governments downsize, technology is a tool to help fill the gap.

Our nation's continued budget woes are taking a toll at all levels of government, including local cities and counties that are struggling with higher costs, lower tax revenue collections and sometimes dwindling state and federal aid. The result is a need to look for lower-cost and less-labor-intensive ways to address a range of government security and law enforcement needs. When governments downsize, technology is a tool to help fill the gap.

According to “Joint Commission Perspectives,” a 2009 survey revealed that the most common types of Joint Commission standards citations given to hospitals were for Life Safety Code violations. In fact, Life Safety Code-related violations were the first, second, fourth and sixth most frequently cited, includinf failure to maintain an egress as well as failing to to protect people from smoke and fire (source: Joint Commission Perspectives). These findings are likely in part to be the result of The Joint Commissions’ increased focus in this area and the addition of Life Safety specialists to the inspection team.