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SIA Legislative Update
Securing America’s HospitalsThe Latest from SIW
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By Don Erickson
With millions of Americans accessing our hospitals and healthcare system each year, Congress should ensure that these facilities have the resources to protect against the threat of violent crime or terrorist attack. Hospitals are no less vulnerable to such incidents as port facilities, public transit systems and other components of our nation’s critical infrastructure that receive substantial federal financial assistance for physical security needs.
Consider the following examples:
• In Jefferson, Ind., a man was arrested for attacking a hospital security officer and members of the emergency roof staff;
• The pregnant manager of a medical center pharmacy in Jacksonville, Fla., was shot and killed by an individual waiting in line;
• A former employee at a hospital in Wisconsin stole more than 200 computers from the hospital that he later auctioned on eBay;
• A four-day old infant was abducted in a hospital in Lubbock, Texas by a woman allegedly wearing hospital scrubs.
Through its work with security professionals at countless hospitals and healthcare facilities, The Security Industry Association’s (SIA) members understand the challenges hospitals face in securing additional resources to protect their environments, and they have developed a legislative proposal that will strengthen the physical security budgets of thousands of hospitals across the nation.
As currently drafted, the “Securing America’s Hospitals Act of 2008” would authorize $500 million in new federal grant funds for hospitals to use for physical security investments. This legislation is modeled after the Port Security Grant Program codified under the SAFE Port Act and the Public Transportation Security Assistance grant program established by Congress last year.
