7A - Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

1.) The opportunity I've chosen to pursue is the lack of security at a local area hospital following a gun suicide incident about 2 weeks ago.

2.) Who: NCH, local SWFL hospital
     What: Low security measures
     Why: A suicide by gun from a patient being treated in the hospital

3.) Who: Are there other hospital incidents in the state or country that prove security measures in
               hospitals are low? Does NCH just have low security as opposed to other hospitals?
     What: What are ways that security measures could be increased or made more efficient? Are there
                methods available that could seem helpful but possibly compromise the safety of patients
                and staff on the premises to another degree?
     Why: Do people think that hospitals have low security measures because of guards? Do they
               think that it has something to do with just admitting anybody who comes through the
               doors? Could the issue lie within someone from the outside having connections to an
               internal affiliate?

4.) I first spoke to Patricia, a family friend of mine who is a nurse at Physicians Regional. PR is another local branch hospital in the area. Patricia told me that security measures seem low because of the check in processes hospitals have. You have to be verified by a guard and given a guest pass with your photo on it to be allowed access to the rest of the hospital. Once you're in though, you have access to every room that doesn't require specific credentials, which is a lot of them. She believes security measures could be increased by placing guards on all the floors instead of just by the main entrance. She also believes that certain acts of violence could be committed by anyone going into the hospital simply because they don't require a lot from you to be allowed in. My second interviewee is a security guard at the an NCH branch location named Lyle. Lyle told me that he feels his guard position provides "decent" protection but he's been on his toes ever since the suicide event. He believes the surveillance system used by the hospital could be updated or increased in the case of any "unintended incidents." He also says that the feeling of low security is due in part to the process of admitting visitors. If they have a room number, name and proper ID he doesn't see why he can't just give them a pass. He also said they can't search purses or backpacks unless they have reasonable suspicion to do so. The third person I interviewed was a friend of mine who is currently in the hospital named Trevor. Trevor says that he feels safe in the hospital and doesn't have any major concerns regarding security. He says that maybe the hospital could place metal detectors for people to pass through on their way past the check-in table as a second line of catching things the security guard might miss. He also states that he thinks security might seem like an issues to people because of media influence and how they always terrorize people with school shooting news and violence. While visiting my friend I decided to interview two on duty nurses: Lauren and Eric. They both asked me if I had come to interview them in light of the suicide patient and I laughed and told them it was a factor but not the whole reason. I questioned them on how they could see security improving, if it needed improving, and Eric told me that there are talks in the branch about updating security measures. Lauren mentioned something about fingerprint scanners for certain rooms. They both feel that the hospital is safe but certain measures can be taken because it's never a bad thing to be "too" safe. They feel like the hospital could have low security because of the lack of security personnel which is the same thing Patty said. Eric also said he'd be interested in taking classes on how to deal with an active shooter because "you never know when that could come in handy."

5.) What I learned about the opportunity is that it could be treated with various methods for improvement. Lyle's point of updating surveillance systems could help identify persons of interest in 1080p instead of blurry and out-of-focus 420p. Lauren mentioning the finger print scans for identification to certain parts of the hospital seems to be a step in the right direction. Who knows what could happen if someone got access to certain information about patients because the nurses on site weren't paying attention to their surroundings? I think this issue can be given plenty of thought and somebody will benefit from finding a solution for it.