Providence St. Mary Medical Center adds K-9 security team
Walla Walla WA September 7 2019 Providence St. Mary Medical Center will add a K-9 to its security team this fall.
The Poplar Street medical center becomes the latest health care campus to add a trained dog to its staff after Providence introduced the first K-9 unit to a Washington state hospital at the start of the year.
The bolstered security is intended to help deter workplace violence on the rise both nationally and locally, hospital officials said.
“An increasing number of hospitals across the nation are now using security dogs to detect contraband, deter violence and help address possible threats,” said Susan Leathers, St. Mary’s Safety, Security and Emergency Preparedness manager, in a prepared statement.
Leathers said this morning the change is also part of a broader shift toward round-the-clock security at the facility. In April, St. Mary completed the build out of its officer staffing with seven people who share the load of 24-hour, full-time security. Two officers overlap shifts during peak hours for the Emergency Department.
“It’s kind of a historic first for the hospital,” Leathers said.
Security officer Michael Smith, who joined the team in March after working in Oregon law enforcement, will serve as the Walla Walla hospital’s K-9 program coordinator.
He will travel this month to the Alabama Canine Law Enforcement Training Center, where he will be paired with a German shephard. Together, the two will train as partners for eight weeks before returning to Walla Walla.
Smith has previous experience as a canine handler from a background in law enforcement. A certified crisis intervention negotiator and private investigator, he has served as an instructor for law enforcement defensive tools, the announcement said.
Startup for the new program for Walla Walla is funded through the Providence St. Mary Foundation. The nonprofit charitable arm of the operation leads fundraising to invest in the hospital’s programs, technology and equipment as part of the mission of ensuring exceptional health care.
While St. Mary picks up its first K-9, Sacred Heart will be in Alabama for its third. The program there has been so successful that it continues to grow with the presence of multiple dogs, Leathers said.
Intended for the security and contraband detection, the animals have also had a profound affect on health care.
“We’ve been able to see how much the patients and employees love the dog(s),” Leathers said.
With the handler’s permission, guests and staff are able to interact with the animals through what can sometimes be a distressing environment.
“The way the dogs really serve in the mission of the healing environment is something that we’ve learned,” Leathers said.
