Emergency Entryways

ADDRESSING WORKPLACE VIOLENCE IN HEALTHCARE

Workplace violence in healthcare settings is a common concern worldwide. In many countries, exacerbated by the global Covid-19 pandemic, incidents are on the rise at an alarming rate. While the number of incidents we know about is concerning, it only tells part of the story. The general consensus is that incidents are severely underreported, making the problem worse than it seems on the surface. This trend of violence against healthcare workers is unacceptable. It not only has a negative impact on the psychological and physical well-being of medical staff but also affects their job motivation, leading to increased staff turnover, loss of productivity, and increased disability and absenteeism costs, impacting the operations of hospitals or mental health centers. Violence in healthcare settings also affects patients’ satisfaction and institutional reputation.

The increasing number of violent incidents is a top concern for healthcare leaders. Yet, many are unsure of the best way to address this complex problem in such a sensitive environment. There is often a feeling that inaction is pervasive as hospital leaders seek to balance safety with quality patient care, often finding that solutions for safety and security are a mismatch for their environments. For those that strike the right balance, the results are eye-opening.

Daniel Hallberg, Hennepin Healthcare System Security Chief, recognized the need to make a change to his security posture and set out to find a solution for screening people that struck the right balance for his leadership and their concern for patient and staff considerations alike. He knew two things at the onset: First, he needed to find a solution that could address his emergency and acute psychiatric services departments, and second, that traditional metal detectors did not fit the bill. After a rigorous process of validating partners and their technology, Hallberg and his leadership team approved using Metrasens Ultra. Hallberg said, “Metrasens Ultra is the perfect fit for our needs. It’s effective and discreet and has helped us identify risks and likely prevent security incidents.”

A SAFER WORKPLACE

Before implementing Metrasens Ultra, the Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) medical staff expressed their concern about the number of weapons and other risk items entering their Emergency and Acute Psychiatric Services Departments.

The emergency department at Hennepin is the busiest in the state, with more than 80,000 visits annually. Add to that more than 12,000 visits to the adult psychiatric services department annually. This makes Hennepin a bustling, urban healthcare facility where staff needs to feel safe to deliver care.

Safety in the workplace, especially in healthcare settings, should be a given. The steps taken by Daniel Hallberg, his team, and his leadership have demonstrated that commitment is more than just words.

In the first five months since the implementation of people screening with Metrasens Ultra, HCMC has prevented the entry of approximately 2,500 risk items, including guns and knives.

It’s not only the numbers that are impressive but the resulting impact of those numbers. As expressed by Hallberg, “Even the number of actual security calls for service has declined in the ED since the application of Metrasens Ultra. So with both quantitative and qualitative findings, we know that we have made the right decision.’

PRECISION THAT MATTERS

While the presence of guns is a top concern, so is the presence of knives, other bladed risk items, and blunt metal objects that, used as weapons, represent a threat. As seen from the data, approximately 1,200 of the 2,500 prevented items were knives or bladed items, which are highly problematic and contribute to the issues communicated by medical staff. With Metrasens Ultra, the security staff at Hennepin County Medical Center can identify the presence of all types of risk items, not just guns, profiled for their level of risk in potential harm to staff or patients themselves. “Metrasens Ultra is highly sensitive and precise and can detect even the smallest risk items on or inside a person’s body. One thing our security staff loves about Ultra is the zone lighting that indicates where the threat item is located on the person,” said Hallberg. ”It not only gives us much confidence that we are catching everything but that we know where something is before we take action to intervene.”

2,500 risk items detected in less than five months with Metrasens

In the first five months of implementing Metrasens Ultra, Hennepin County Medical Center has been able to prevent the entry of 2,500 risk items from its emergency department and adult psychiatric services department combined. Some of the more prominent items prevented include:

A SEAMLESS EXPERIENCE

The concerns that often accompany metal detection (size, institutional look) have all been solved with Metrasens Ultra. Not only have medical staff communicated that they feel safer but the hospital patients and patrons have given positive feedback on their use. “Patients and visitors are commenting positively, saying that we should have put these metal detectors in a while ago. It speaks to both their confidence in the systems and their comfort in having them in the healthcare facility they choose to get their care. That is one of the biggest benefits, knowing that we have achieved the balance we intended with satisfaction from staff and patients.” says Hallberg. “With the success, we have had in the emergency department and adult psychiatric services department, other departments and clinics are interested in the Metrasens Ultra solution.”