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Annual Report 2023 A year in review

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Improved safety at CMH in 2023

Within recent years, CMH has invested in expanding its security systems to improve patient and caregiver safety.

Since 2021, CMH has had its own security team. The team, led by manager Paula Larson, is on-site full-time. Under Larson’s leadership, safety improvements have included:

  • 24/7 security presence on the hospital campus.
  • Upgrading CMH’s camera system and badge swipe access control via a $150,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security.
  • Restricting access to hospital doors except at times caregivers are present. Many doors are now badge-swipe only for staff entry.
  • Conducting active shooter training for all CMH caregivers during Fall 2023. This training followed the principles of Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate (ALICE) and is similar to Run, Hide, Fight but goes one step further by teaching participants skills such as barricading doors.
  • Installing duress buttons throughout hospital clinics to aid caregivers in case of emergencies.
  • Conducting Management of Aggressive Behaviors (MOAB) training for all caregivers. This training is pre-requisite for ALICE.
  • Signing up all caregivers for the mass notification system, EverBridge. The system provides a way for CMH leadership to alert caregivers to emergencies such as power outages and storms. The system also provides a mobile duress button feature for caregivers.
  • Starting a Trespass Committee that includes Security, Administration, Quality and Care Management. If a person is trespassed, CMH reaches out to them afterward to review what happened and potentially offer an appeal. The committee looks at these on a case-by-case basis and whether the person needs to continue outpatient services due to a medical need. After a committee decision is made, Care Management supports the person to ensure they are able to get the care they need.
  • Placing permanent barriers inside the Emergency Department for additional caregiver protection.

These updates and others have helped ensure caregivers and patients are safe while at CMH.