Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | May 14, 2018 | Worcester Business Journal 9 B O O K O F L I S T S W J BJ B W W J BJ B J BJ BJ B Bre Fes Bre Fes PLEASE JOIN US! WBJ's largest and most popular edition of the year - 2018 Book of Lists is coming out on May 30 and we are celebrating! WEDNESDAY, MAY 30 5:00 - 7:00 PM Tower Hill Botanic Garden 11 French Dr., Boylston, MA 01505 Cost: $25. Pre-registration required. For more details or to register go to www.wbjournal.com/brewfest All attendees will receive a copy of the 2018 Book of Lists hot off the press! Worcester Business Journal WBJ Growler Sponsors Cask Sponsor Local Breweries to date • Networking reception • Select local craft breweries with tasting tables • Hors d'oeuvres and cash bar Our workplace is safe UMass Memorial Medical Center and Harrington Hospital have both installed metal detectors at their emergency rooms, and UMass has instituted active-shoot- er training since an incident last year in which a Harrington nurse was stabbed by a patient. When polled online, the majority of WBJ readers felt their workplace was safe from violence, largely believing potential violent offenders won't target their businesses. F L AS H P O L L "We have increased security quite a bit, but I am still concerned particularly ex-employees may still be able to access the building during work hours." COMMENTS: Do you believe your workplace to be safe from potential violence? Yes. We've taken security precautions. 31% "We are located in a very rural area. We have electronic access alert, guard dogs, and all personnel are required to carry side arms. We have monthly comparative target practice on our private shooting range." "Too often too much emphasis is put onto preventing outside threats coming into business rather than securing threats from individuals within the organization." Yes. I don't believe my workplace is a target. 35% cases), followed by parking lots (23 per- cent) and patient rooms (19 percent). Hospital employees represented one out of five victims. While hospitals haven't yet adopt- ed measures such as metal detectors broadly, Harrington has hosted six to eight other area hospitals wanting to see how the improvements have gone there, Lemieux said. Harrington's main Southbridge campus and Webster campus have both installed emergency department detectors. "ere is no one-size-fits-all solution for every hospital or campus," he said. More at Harrington, UMass Officials at Harrington and UMass said they've had many cases of people carrying pocket knives or similar ob- jects into a hospital without realizing it. Szymanski called the number of pocket knives found pretty astounding, but said there have been relatively few issues. Harrington has been looking into whether to expand security restrictions across the whole hospital. Visitors to other areas of the hospital don't need to go through a metal detector. "at's an area that's ripe for discus- sion, something we talk about oen," Le- mieux said. "at's where the challenges come in from a logistical standpoint." In the meantime, Harrington and UMass have both expanded emergency staff training, including active-shooter training. At UMass, training exercis- es included advising staff on when to shelter in place, when to run or when to fight back against an attacker. All staff are required to participate in what has become an annual program. Like with security access, hospitals make for complex cases in dealing with such incidents. "Hospitals are very unique because we can't just have everyone evacuate," said Gina Smith, the director for UMass' emergency management and prepared- ness program. "e plan has to be very simple. We're focused on the first eight to 10 minutes until help arrives." No. We haven't taken necessary precautions. 22% No. We have security measures in place but they aren't enough. 18% W

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