Defining the Risks

One of the leading healthcare organizations in Illinois, Memorial Health System is a community-based, not-for- profit corporation dedicated to patient care, education and research. Its affiliates include Memorial Medical Center (Springfield, IL); Taylorville Memorial Hospital (Taylorville, IL); Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital (Lincoln, IL); Memorial Home Services (serving a 19-county area); Mental Health Centers of Central Illinois (serving a six-county area); and Memorial Physician Services (consisting of 11 Central Illinois clinics).

Tim Sutton is an account manager with Securitas Security Services USA, from whom Memorial contracts all of their security services. As Memorial’s Director of Security, Tim is responsible for security throughout the entire Memorial Health System organization. He is board certified in security management (CPP) by ASIS International and is also certified by the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS) as a Certified Healthcare Security Supervisor (CHSS).

Developing Solutions

Sutton utilizes CAP Index data for two primary purposes: to conduct risk assessments for new hospital locations and to perform security evaluations at existing healthcare facilities.

Additionally, CAP Index data helps Sutton make decisions regarding physical security presence at each Memorial Health System location, as well as determine crime trends in specific geographic areas. Finally, Sutton relies on the data to justify across-the-board security expenditures and provide a point of comparison for crime levels at both the county and state levels.

Results

Sutton believes that CAP Index data is an integral tool in assessing the security of Memorial Health System’s multiple healthcare facilities. Not only does he consider running CAP Index reports a “best practice” in conducting risk assessments and hazard vulnerabilities, he consistently uses the knowledge gained from the reports to ensure he and his team are “on the right path and doing what needs to be done” in order to fully protect the safety and security of patients, visitors and employees.