Most patients would never imagine that the professionals who tend to their maladies are at great risk of injury themselves. From 2012-2014 alone, violent crimes in hospitals rose 40%, and more than 10,000 of those incidents directly targeted hospital employees. In response to the rise in hospital violence, hospital security guards are increasingly adopting firearms as a method of protection. In 2011, 15% of hospitals in a Health Facilities Management survey stated their security officer carried a firearm. By 2014, that number had risen to 52%.
Despite deploying more weapons to security teams, violence in the hospital environment continues to escalate, demanding alternate solutions.
When nurses and doctors have no path of communication with security guards, a bad situation can quickly turn ugly. By the time security arrives, the patient is often already agitated and a bad situation can become worse. By allowing staff members to communicate effortlessly, security can arrive prepared. They can have a better understanding of the situation at hand and be able to address violence before it occurs. Fortunately, hospitals can now enable their employees to communicate throughout their organization to speed security team response and possibly defuse violent situations.
WAVE Work Group Communications is a push-to-talk (PTT) solution that connects users on any device – radio, smartphone, tablet, desktop or telephone – to secure talkgroups. WAVE makes it easy for doctors, nurses, hospital and facilities staff, and security guards to communicate on a secure PTT channel using the same devices they are already carrying – they no longer need a radio to connect to radio users. WAVE’s simple display allows an entire staff to easily stay connected on a secure network.
WAVE’s desktop and browser-based console applications enhance communications among teams, whether in their office or on-the-go. Providing hospital employees with the opportunity to communicate with each other immediately – regardless of location – enables them to contact security guards or staff on the scene who can in turn react more swiftly. Improved security and patient and provider safety is only a push away.
Visit www.motorolasolutions.com/wave to learn more about how WAVE can help get every device, every network and every team to connect like never before.
