January 23, 2008—Developing stronger security plans, increasing budgets and increasing safety are the driving forces behind the Securing America’s Hospitals Act, a legislative proposal that the Security Industry Association and the International Association of Health Care Security & Safety are currently creating.
The proposal would authorize $500 million in federal grant funds during the next five years for hospitals to acquire access control, video surveillance solutions and other electronic security technologies.
The money would boost security for healthcare, which is categorized as one of the nation’s 17 critical infrastructures by the Department of Homeland Security. Tony York, president of IAHSS and senior vice president for Hospital Shared Services, said these facilities are under-funded in comparison to other critical industries such as chemical or transit.
York said hospitals, especially community hospitals, have inadequate security budgets because senior executives still do not understand the importance a hospital’s security department plays in developing the business value.
The federal funding would allow hospitals to invest in technologies to mitigate specific risks such as terror attacks, gang violence and biological scares, he said.
More than 5,000 profit and non-profit hospitals would be eligible to apply for the funds that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would administer.
For more information, see the Web site for the International Association of Health Care Security & Safety.
