Issue link: https://securitytechnologyexecutive.epubxp.com/i/431828
November/December 2014 • SECURITY TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE 25 www.SecurityInfoWatch.com B y Chief Quentin Jude N a v i c e n t H e a l t h a l s o includes The Medical Center, Navicent Health, a designated Level I Trauma Center and one of 42 twice-designated Magnet hospitals for nursing excellence nationwide. Distin- guished nationally for its excellence, The Medical Center, Navicent Health is one of the premier teaching hospitals in the United States and serves as the primary teach- ing hospital for the Mercer University School of Medicine. Navicent Health supports residency- training programs in family practice, general sur- gery, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecol- ogy and pediatrics with more than 100 medical residents and fellows in training. As a teaching hospital, The Medical Center, Navicent Health is able to attract the best and the brightest to the area. Today, The Medical Center, Navicent Health is a 637-bed, full-service, acute care hospital that now serves an estimated population of 750,000 residents in central and south Georgia and is the second-largest hospital in the state. Accredited by Det Norske Veritas (DNV), the medical facility serves a primary service area of 30 counties and treats patients from nearly 80 percent of Geor- gia's 159 counties. The objective of Navicent Health's Police Department is to provide a safe, secure and hos- pitable environment for its patients, staff and visitors. Selecting the right security systems, part- nerships and integrations helps us to achieve our goals and accommodate the organization's growth with an appropriately scaled use of manpower. The organization's goals needed to align with our departmental goals, and they had to support one another tech- nically, operationally and fiscally. Collaboration and Identification of Organizational Challenges Before we could start looking at new products and prices, we had to understand our needs. My long tenure at Navicent Health was an asset in this process as I could relate to the patrol offi- cers, the mobile units, the dispatchers and the supervisors. I have been in every one of those positions at one time or another, so the con- cerns they had were understood and considered throughout the process. Similarly, it was impor- tant to engage the right administrative team members and leaders from other departments to understand their needs and challenges. Internal collaboration was the first step. The team included members from nursing, the risk management team, the human resourc- es department, the IT department and local law enforcement. Security considerations included: • Unpredictable environment and activity in the Emergency Center; • Infant and pediatric security; • Pharmacy regulations; The organization's goals needed to align with our departmental goals, and they had to support one another technically, operationally and fiscally. SECURITY INNOVATION AWARD W I N N E R Navicent Health is one of Georgia's largest healthcare organizations, with highly integrated video surveillance and access control systems.