A survey of pandemic influenza preparedness and response capabilities in Chicago area hospital security departments.
This article is a summary based on a December 2007 paper prepared by the author in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master's degree in business and organizational security management at Webster University. The project described was intended to assess Chicago-area healthcare organization security departments' preparedness and response capabilities for a potential influenza pandemic. While the author says healthcare organizations are learning from the pandemics of the past, little research has been conducted on the requirements necessary within hospital security departments. The article explores staffing, planning, preparation and response capabilities within a healthcare security context to determine existing resources available to the healthcare security community. Eleven completed surveys were received from hospital security managers throughout the geographical Chicago area. They reveal that hospital security managers are conscious of the risks of a pandemic influenza outbreak. Yet, it was found that several gaps existed within hospital security department staffing and response capabilities, as hospital security departments may not have the available resources necessary to adequately maintain their operations during a pandemic incident.
Kimmerly
David P
DP
Schirmer Engineering, an Aon company, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. david_kimmerly@schirmereng.com
D002641:Chicago / Q000453:epidemiology; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006748:Hospital Departments; D006801:Humans; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology; D010561:Personnel Staffing and Scheduling; D012637:Security Measures