Welcome to Millinocket Regional Hospital

Purpose and Emergency Preparedness Plan Policy

POLICY:
Millinocket Regional Hospital will ensure a secure environment for all personnel visitors and patient by controlling and limiting access to the hospital. All hospital grounds shall be adequately lighted to provide security to those on the hospital grounds.

PURPOSE:
To provide a safe and secure environment to all patients, employees and visitors within the hospital and its campus.

PROCEDURES:

Annual Review
Annually the Safety Committee reviews the Security Plan to assure that it meets the needs of the entire institution. This review includes assessment of standards for a security program, state and federal regulations, analysis of local crime and consideration of any acts of crime that may have occurred in or near the building and grounds of the hospital. We will also consider input from the staff. The staff will be made aware of the elements of the security program on an annual basis.

Dangerous Weapons
MRH prohibits the carrying of concealed and or otherwise in it's facilities (building, grounds, owned vehicles). See MRH Policy “Violence Prevention in the Workplace”.

Handling of Suspicious, Unruly, or Disruptive Patients or Visitors:

If a person is thought to be suspicious in anyway, for example seen wandering in an area that is restricted or they otherwise don't belong, you should:

Avoid confronting them alone if at all possible;

Quickly move to an area where you can summons a member of management (if on site) or another co-worker;

Ask the suspicious person if you can assist them in any way, and explain that unless they have specific business at the hospital they should not be wandering about;

Report the incident with as much detail as possible to the security guard if on duty and a member of
Administration in house or the Administrator on call so that a thorough investigation can be initiated and a call to report the incident to appropriate authorities can be placed;

If you are a witness to any type of unruly or disruptive behavior:

Stay calm, and from an area that is not in direct visualization of the person(s), place a call to the security guard if on duty and then the police by activating 911, dialing 9-911; if you are in the ED it may be easier to activate the panic alarm without being seen, the MS or other staff then will call the police for you;

If you are the focus or directly involved with a person exhibiting unruly or disruptive behavior:

If someone begins to show signs of agitation or other escalating behavior, notify security and or co-worker at this time to indicate that you may need their help, do not wait until the person is out of control;

Stay calm, listen attentively, maintain eye contact, be courteous and patient; Try to keep the situation under your control;

The local police must be notified to assist. This should be done by someone other that the staff engaged with the unruly person if there is someone else who can do it. Options include a telephone call to 9-911 by a co-worker, or the ED panic alarm.

Threatening behavior:

Stay calm, listen attentively, maintain eye contact, be courteous and patient; Try to keep the situation under your control;

Try to stall for time;

If there is combativeness, violence or a weapon involved: Keep talking and follow instructions of the person who has the weapon- do not risk harm to yourself or others to safeguard material items (i.e. if someone has a weapon and is demanding you give him a supply of medications, give the medications);

Take any clear opportunity to escape or to call for help

It is usually best not to try and grab the weapon or attempt to rush or subdue the individual(s) with the weapon;

If you are unable to escape, stay calm and wait until police arrive and then take actions under their direction.

Procedures for Notifying Administration
A member of Senior Administration must be notified of events of this nature regardless of the severity or outcome and an incident report filed.

Handling Patients under Police Custody
See MRH Policy “Use of Forensic/Law Enforcement Personnel”

High Risk Areas:

Emergency Department Security
As guidance in dealing with intoxicated Persons, Drug OD patients, intruders or otherwise combative patients- please refer to the content earlier in this policy or “Behavioral Disorders in the ED”.

A panic button is located at the ED main desk. Pressing this button will active a yellow strobe light the Inpatient nurse's station indicating a security emergency. Nursing procedure requires Inpatient staff to call police at 9-911 to report a security emergency in the ED.

Pharmacy
The Pharmacy is a high risk area due to storage of narcotics and other drugs. The Pharmacy remains locked at all times, with tightly controlled access- see Pharmacy Security Policy;

Hospital Access Control
ID Badges & Traffic Control, See MRH “Identification Badge and Traffic Surveillance” and “MRH Visitor Policy”

Exterior Entrances (self closing and positive latching) are kept locked at all times with the following exceptions:

The main entrance
Employee Entrance
Ed entrance
Shipping and Receiving Entrance
MRI/CT Scan Entrance
Boiler Room
Entrance at PT

An exterior locking schedule of these doors in maintained in the Maintenance Department.

The following doors are restricted to emergency exit only and are equipped with audible alarms which enunciate if the door is opened:

Inpatient substation
Southeast stairwell exit
Stairwell exit near Library
OR area exit

All interior doors providing access to unoccupied areas are kept locked or are locked by housekeeping after cleaning.

The key file system and keys to all doors (except Pharmacy) are maintained by the Maintenance department. Keys are distributed to employees as required and collected by Human Resources upon any employee's termination of employment.

Closed Circuit Television: monitor the main entrance and the ED entrance 24 hours per day; monitors for these cameras are located at the Inpatient Nurses Station and in the ED.

Audio monitoring: The main entrance and ED entrance are equipped with an intercom system. A visitor or patient arriving at these entrances after they've been locked may communicate with the ED or Inpatient nurse's station via the intercom system.

Security Personnel: Contracted/Outside Services:
Currently we have guards from 9pm- 5am. They make rounds in the building and on the grounds, AND are otherwise located near the ED.

Building and Grounds Lighting
All entrances and parking lots are illuminated at night.

Building and Grounds Security
Security staff makes rounds regularly but on a different time schedule each day.

All interior doors providing access to unoccupied areas are kept locked or are locked by housekeeping after cleaning.

Escort Service
The security guard is available and staff is encouraged to seek his escort during night hours to and from the parking lot.

Procedure for Security of the Safe
The safe is used for patient valuables and to store over the counter bank deposits overnight. The amount of money is usually less than $ 30000.00. There is a combination lock on the door and the safe is a combination safe. At this time we have determined this to be adequate due to the limited use of the safe and it is under double combination lock

Infant Abduction
See “Pediatric Security Policy”

US Patent Numbers 7,720,998 B2, 7,836,207