Penn State Hershey Medical Center to begin arming security officers
HERSHEY, Pa October 31 2018– Penn State Hershey Medical Center adding more security which includes armed security guards.
“We have zero tolerance for aggression and violence in the healing environment that we provide here,” said Deborah Berini, President of Penn State Hershey Med.
It’s a security initiative that has been in the works for a while here at Penn State Hershey Medical Center.
“Over the past several years we’ve had a comprehensive approach to increasing safety and security on campus,” said Berini.
President of Hershey Medical Deborah Berini outlines a portion of this security includes the behavioral response team.
“We bring expertise to the bedside to help the caregivers deescalate the situation and avoid a bad outcome,” said Berini.
Berini adds that with a growing hospital it is important to also arm some security guards.
“The healthcare workforce is four times more likely to experience workplace violence than any other industry,” said Berini.
She adds that these types of interventions that are being done at Hershey Medical are standard these days across the board.
“This is a hot topic in healthcare right now is how do we keep are staff our, our faculty and are students and their students and visitors safe,” said Berini.
The training for arming the security guards lasted for about one year.
CBS21