Florida hospital adds K-9 teams to patrol campus
Orlando FL Jan 17 2018
Florida Hospital will soon deploy its newest security department employees across its Central Florida campuses: effortlessly-adorable gunpowder-sniffing canines.
The dogs are part of the health system’s new three-tiered security force, created after the Pulse shooting tragedy and other mass shooting incidents across the country in recent years.
“We’re a large hospital system, and there are multiple goals we’re trying to meet,” said Eric Stevens, senior executive officer of acute care service at Florida Hospital, overseeing the eight Central Florida campuses. “We want to create an environment that’s easy to use, friendly and open in a world that’s changing, while keeping our patients safe.”
The health system has invested $3.5 million in bolstering its security measures since Pulse, and it’s not alone.
Soon after the tragedy, Orlando Health limited the number of entryways to its downtown hospitals and placed permanent security personnel and metal detectors at each entrance. Nemours placed a uniformed Orlando police officer on its campus, with a police cruiser parked in a visible location.
“The world around us is changing,” said Randy Hartley, chief operating officer at Nemours, in a 2017 interview. “Violence seems to be less and less of an exception.”
Florida Hospital now has 2,500 cameras installed across its Central Florida facilities. It’s equipped the security guards with metal detectors, and by late April it’s launching a mass notification system for all employees, an initiative that’s also been undertaken by Orlando Health.
Florida Hospital is also adding more layers to its security system.
More than a dozen security personnel, especially trained to identify potential threats, monitor the campuses wearing inconspicuous business attire.
Another 150 uniformed officers will be equipped with batons, pepper spray and body cameras by late February. And around the same time half-a-dozen canines, trained to detect gunpowder, will start patrolling the facilities.
The health system is planning to have at least a dozen canines across its Central Florida campuses by the end of this year.
When it comes to hospital security, “there’s no perfect recipe,” said Stevens. “We always look for measures that are reliable and effective.”
Orlando Sentinel
