Security officers at the Swedish Medical Center will be the first in Seattle to be armed with Tasers, according to a Seattle Times article on the PoliceOne website.
About 230 hospitals in the United States use the devices, according to the article.
"Healthcare is one of the places where workplace violence is a problem because [employees] are working with volatile or unstable people," Elaine Fischer, spokeswoman for the Washington Department of Labor and Industries, said in the article. "They're working alone or working late at night."
Swedish spokesman Clay Holtzman said the medical center spent about a year considering adding a weapon for security officers and found Tasers were "our best, less-lethal option when compared to batons and pepper spray."
Creating Compassionate Spaces in Healthcare
Study Shows Connection Between Odor and Patient Experience
Boca Grande Health Clinic Opens in Florida
Medical Outpatient Buildings: 4 Trends Bringing Risk, Opportunity
Nemours Children's Health Opens the Betty and Jack Demetree Family Center for Otolaryngology