By Jeff Wardon, Jr., Assistant Editor

An 18-year-old man, Steven Couch, was charged with multiple counts of aggravated assault after allegedly attacking three nurses and a Highmark Health police officer at Jefferson Hospital in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports. The incident occurred when staff saw him trying to break into a locked medical office. Couch allegedly punched several nurses and an officer before being restrained and sedated. He was being treated at the hospital before transport. 

Violence against healthcare professionals continues to climb, which makes ensuring the safety and security of a healthcare facility critical. There are many technologies healthcare facility managers can call upon to achieve those goals. 

Related: Addressing Workplace Violence in Healthcare with Reporting Systems

If a violent incident does occur, access control systems can go into a lockdown mode, Kyle Pfeiffer, industry solutions leader – healthcare at SALTO Systems, previously told Healthcare Facilities Today. Furthermore, localized lockdowns can be enabled by authorized staff to immediately lock down specific doors, buildings or even the entire facility. By activating a lock down, the threat can be contained to a specific area so that it doesn’t escape or potentially harm anyone else. 

Staff can also use personal panic devices that utilize real-time location services if they perceive a threat, Doug Coppola, senior director of healthcare solutions, North America at LenelS2, previously told Healthcare Facilities Today. This notifies security of who needs assistance and where to send it. There can also be integrated video with voice aggression analytics that help identify an incident before it turns violent, alerting security to send a de-escalation team to address the threat. 

“When these types of devices and systems are integrated into the access control solution, security teams are provided with a unified system, what is sometimes referred to as a “single pane of glass,” to monitor in their operations center,” says Coppola.  

Jeff Wardon, Jr., is the assistant editor of the facilities market.