Hospital securityNapa Valley hospital employees fearful of new, wearable security system
Employees at a Napa Valley, California hospital are required to carry an alarm device on a lanyard around their necks; the alarm device is about the size of a smart phone and can send and receive signals during an emergency; after incidents in which psychiatric patients tried to choke employees by grabbing and twisting the lanyards, employees want other options for carrying the alarm device
A personal security alarm device that Napa State Hospital employees must wear has the staff up in arms and fearful of attacks. They say it threatens their safety when worn around their necks.
In a press conference held in front of the hospital, employees cited an incident which occurred last Wednesday The Napa Valley Register reports that the incident involved a patient who assaulted a psychiatric unit technician from behind by pulling on the lanyard. Discussions on a new alarm system started after a technician, Donna Gross, was strangled in October 2010.
During the attack last Wednesday, the lanyard broke as designed, according to the State Department of Hospitals, but representatives said on Thursday that the alarm system is flawed. The lanyard broke, but the issue was that the patient was able to pull the lanyard from behind which choked the employee.
Now the hospital has to deal with the fear that other employees may have of a similar occurrence.
“Everybody is deathly afraid to come to work,” Zach Hatton, chief steward for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees at Napa State told theNapa Valley Register. “Nobody wants to wear the lanyard around their necks,” Hatton said. “[Employees] didn’t want to wear it before yesterday’s incident. They do not want to wear it today.”
Hospital officials are required to wear the personal security device on a lanyard around necks. The alarm device itself is about the size of a smart phone and can send and receive signals during an emergency. The alarm is part of a new security system at the hospital that costs an estimated $5 to $6 million according to state figures.
On Wednesday, a psychiatric technician was allegedly punched in the face by a patient who grabbed the technician’s lanyard. The incident occurred in the secured treatment area, where patients who are referred through the criminal system are housed, according to employees.
“The employee immediately activated his alarm, and a struggle ensued, during which the patient grabbed the employee’s lanyard, and it broke off as designed,” Kathy Gaither, chief deputy director for the California Department of State Hospitals, said in a statement.
The employee was quickly assisted by his co-workers, Gaither said. The employee was then taken to Queen of the Valley Medical Center where he was evaluated and released around 10 p.m. The incident is still under investigation.
Hatton as well as other employees would prefer to wear the device on their belt clips, and according to the State Department of State Hospitals, that method is begin tested by about 100 employees.
“It’s really a good option,” rehabilitation therapist Joe Spezza told theRegister. One of the employees selected to test the belt clip option known as “carabiner.”
The belt, however, poses concerns, according to Gaither. Employees may not be able to see or hear messages and the belt loop could break when the alarm is pulled.
“We are continuing to look for alternatives,” she said.
