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Case Study – Paladin Security at Capital District Health Authority in Halifax
October 30, 2013Focus on Healthcare, Toronto
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Capital District Health Authority (CDHA) – Overview
Largest of 10 Nova Scotia health authorities
6 acute sites Halifax Infirmary – mayor trauma/tertiary
centre for Atlantic Canada – 700 beds/75k ER visits
Victoria General – huge inpatient site (400 beds) with no ER – 3 blocks from HI
Dartmouth General – community hospital in heavy crime area – busy ED Nova Scotia Hospital – stand alone mental health facility Hant’s Hospital – small rural hospital in retirement community of
Windsor Cobequid – in growing suburb of Sackville – ER but no inpatients Community clinics and programs
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Paladin at CDHA
Awarded contract in Oct 2011 after more than 2 decades with another provider
No corporate security department/lead – rely on vendor
Union concerns over staff safety especially in mental health
Funding a challenge in NS healthcare Tasked with finding cost savings while enhancing
service
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Start Up Initiatives
Conducted review of SO deployment and functions
Change philosophy away from fixed posts to mobile security force
Made security visible, mobile and customer focused Trained security to function in demanding ER and MH
environs Implemented incident reporting/data collection processes
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Specific Projects
Security reviews of 4 community health clinics
Review of rehab Building – fixed SO post
Used metrics to guide site staffing levels and functions Provided algorithm to determine if patient aide/security best
for patient watch Designed centralized Operations Centre model Helped CDHA develop security-related policies
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Conclusion
CDHA realized substantial cost savings in security with more identified
Plan to centralize Operations Centre/Dispatch functions approved
Feedback from CDHA, especially from high risk areas, overwhelmingly positive
Perception that security levels have increased though they have not
Data now available to CDHA for best practice/evidence-based decision making