Hospitals
Homeland Security - Force Protection
Hospital Security and Anti-terrorism
We Have the Skills to Make You Safer
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Larry Hartsook
(423) 420-9477
larry.hartsook@giss911.com
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Doug Marr
(770) 924-8649 or (770) 630-0124
doug.marr@giss911.com
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Although terrorism has existed for centuries, its effects have been
local and minimized until the adoption of chemical, biological,
radiological, nuclear, and explosive weapons (CBRNE). The introduction
and use of these weapons for terrorism
increased steadily from the latter half of the twentieth century until
the historic and catastrophic terrorist attack by Al-Qaeda on September
11, 2001. Since then, terrorist attacks have increased in severity and
frequency worldwide by more than 35% (Committee on Government Reform,
2004).
In the midst of this period of unrest, hospitals continue to be
plagued by violence towards medical staff, which most often occurs at
the emergency department. “According to the National Institute of
Occupational Safety and Health, hospital workers experienced assaults
at a rate of 8.3 per 10,000 employees in 1999, more than quadruple the
two assaults per 10,000 employees in other sectors” (Shinkman, 2003, p.
10). The compounding effect of these issues causes great stress
on hospitals to prepare to treat mass casualties from terrorist
incidents, as well as, mitigate the threat of violence and
terrorism directed against them.
• How do hospitals prepare for mass casualty events?
• What hospitals are at risk for terrorist attacks?
• What can hospitals do to protect themselves from terrorist acts?
• What process or steps can hospitals take to analyze their own security deficiencies?
• How much should security and force protection for hospitals cost?
Terrorism is any political, religious, or ideologically motivated unlawful violent act or
threat perpetuated against innocents and public or private property for the purposes of
intimidation, coercion or to compel a government to abstain from performing any act.
This definition will be used to determine whether events are considered terrorist acts.
There is less controversy over the terms used to describe domestic and international
terrorism: Therefore, the definitions of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will be used.
Essentially, domestic terrorism includes those activities carried out against a government or
people without foreign influence, while international terrorism involves activities that are
directed by foreign influence (FEMA, n.d.).
The total number of significant International terrorist attacks has
more than tripled from previous years. The increase in attacks may
signify a regrouping of
international terrorist cells and shift from the current trend of
attacks. These numbers indicate that event though the total number of
attacks are declining from the previous year, the magnitude and
devastation associated with the attacks is rising. This conclusion was
derived using the previously mentioned definitions of terrorism.
The available terrorist data for the United States indicates that
Northeastern states may have twice the risk of terrorist bombings than
the North Central states.
The past 25 years of terrorist attacks have primarily been carried
out with the use of conventional weapons such as explosives and small
arms. The use of
high-tech weapons such as anthrax powder, sarin gas, and nuclear
devices elicit a tremendous amount of fear from the public. This fact
alone increases the potential for greater use by terrorist groups.
Consequently, the likelihood that future terrorist attacks will use
high-tech weapons increases with advances in technology. For this
reason, hospitals need to be prepared to react to these types of
attacks.
Another concern is the recent targeting of hospitals for
terrorist attacks. Terrorist attacks targeting hospitals over the last
five years. Prior to 2001, there were less than three International attacks identified against hospitals as compared to 14 in 2005 alone.
In June of 2005 The Washington Times reported “an FBI affidavit
said Hamid Hayat admitted attending an Al Qaeda training camp in 2003
and 2004, and the trainees were being taught to target hospitals and
large food stores in the United States” (Seper, J., 2005).
Additionally, late in 2004, the FBI released a report that Veterans
Affairs (VA) hospitals may be a specific target for terrorism due to
their affiliation with the military. Since they are located off
military installations, they become an easier target (Associated Press,
2004). Further evidence strengthening the argument that terrorists are
targeting hospitals emerged in April of 2005, when unknown assailants
impersonated JCAHO inspectors claiming they were performing unannounced
inspections in Boston, Detroit, and Los Angeles. In all cases, the
impersonators either left or were expelled when security or staff
questioned them about their identity.
Hospitals are not prepared for terrorist attacks. A GAO report
entitled, Hospital Preparedness: Most Urban Hospitals Have Emergency
Plans but Lack Certain Capacities for Bioterrorism Response (2003).
The developed security assessment checklist, terrorism mitigation
matrix, and resources are tools to assist an organization in achieving
a “Hardened” state in response to terrorism and other perceived threats
with a minimal amount of research and effort.
The former Director of
Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, stated to the AHA:
If we are to secure our homeland ...our hometowns must be secure. The critical role you
play in that effort cannot be underestimated. The President’s executive order directed our
office to develop and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy to secure the United
States from terrorist threats or attacks. We must protect our borders, our people, our
physical and electronic infrastructure, our schools and businesses and, yes, our hospitals
(2002).
Copied in part from U.S. Army – Baylor University Graduate Program in Health Care Administration.
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