HUP security saves lives outside of the ER

Coupled with a force of 40 officers, the hospital's new security system makes HUP a very safe place. and Randi Rothberg With a high-tech surveillance system and its own security force, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania may be one of the safest places on campus. It needs to be. In recent years, emergency room staffers have been forced to deal with escaped mental patients, bloody intruders and even the occasional food-thief. HUP's security system, which was updated at a cost of $150,000 when a new emergency room was built two years ago, is housed in a Security Operations Center located adjacent to the hospital's emergency entrance on the west side of 34th Street. The hospital maintains a security force of 40 officers, which is separate from the University's Division of Public Safety that handles campus security. Approximately 10 armed officers -- whose uniforms closely resemble those of the University Police -- are assigned to each shift. The guards do not have the authority to make arrests, and University Police officers help out at the hospital when needed. Additionally, Spectaguard mans two outdoor posts at HUP each weekday, according to Spectaguard Assistant Vice President Gesi McAllister. HUP's security system features more than 140 videos cameras in public areas in and around the hospital which constantly tape all activity and allow security officials in the operations center to zoom in on specific images, HUP Security Director Al Glogower said. Additionally, the hospital's 150 doors open only to those with proper access programmed onto the magnetic strips of their identification cards. Whenever a person swipes a card to open any HUP door, the individual's name, position and location are displayed on a monitor in the dispatch office, he added. All security officials -- most of whom have held positions in the military, police force or other security agencies -- endure an "extensive" 40-hour training program teaching them skills ranging from subduing intruders to report-writing. But while most HUP security guards eagerly share dramatic "war stories" of confrontations with distraught patients or families, most admitted that their daily tasks are considerably more mundane. Indeed, the officers spend much of their time directing lost patients and visitors through the "ever-changing hospital maze," according to HUP security official Kent McFarland, who joined the force five years ago after leaving the military. Additionally, the guards are taught how to handle difficult interpersonal situations, such as when distraught family members refuse to be separated from patients. "The officers all know how to talk to the patients and their families," HUP security official Sandy Shelton said. "They understand that this is an environment where people are going to be upset." Shelton added that HUP staff members sometimes call security officers to deal with difficult patients, noting that while officers peacefully mediate most situations, "sometimes no amount of talking will resolve the issue." Shelton -- a 20-year HUP security veteran and former postal policewoman -- said officers also deal with safety issues, such as people stuck in elevators, chemical spills and gas leaks. She noted that their most boring task is unlocking doors for locked-out employees and contractors needing access to construction sites, but stressed that "somebody has to make sure only the right people get in." Although officers spend most of their time handling routine security and safety issues, they can all recall specific memorable incidents. Security officer Norris Haynes -- who has worked in several security positions, including as a Spectaguard supervisor, for eight years -- said working at HUP is "more involved [and] more intense" than his other jobs. "There's all kinds of confrontation," the former state crisis intervention center employee said, recalling an incident when he had to confront a patient attempting to leave the hospital against medical advice with the patient's intoxicated family members. McFarland said he also remembers one night about two years ago when a psychologically unstable patient escaped from the ER and ran through the hospital. McFarland and several other officers joined ER staff in chasing him through HUP's underground tunnel system and down Spruce Street before they finally caught and handcuffed him at 38th Street. HUP security official Kevin Sample -- who worked at the Graduate Hospital and 18th and South Streets before joining HUP more than a year ago -- recalled a mysterious intruder who kept sneaking into HUP's dietary unit and eating food intended for the patients. The officers nicknamed him the "chicken man" because he was particularly fond of stealing chicken. They finally caught him and discovered that he had gained access to HUP through a friend who worked at the hospital. Shelton said she remembers an incident about three years ago when a patient struck a match and lit the ER on fire. She also recalled a patient who came into the ER with a knife stuck in her heart. "That was very frightening," she said. "She had already lost a lot of blood and she was really pale, but I am told she actually survived."

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