Three Things to Include in a Violence Vulnerability Assessment for Healthcare

Vulnerability assessments can help a hospital or healthcare system identify key improvement areas within a Workplace Violence Prevention and Intervention (WVPI) program.  When performing any assessment, it’s important to have clear benchmarks to evaluate against.  In other words, an assessment should help identify needs and gaps in a program or process based on prevailing standardization or regulatory considerations.  For WVPI, the three following areas should be included as part of a vulnerability assessment for WVPI in healthcare. 

Physical Security 

At a basic level, physical security controls are designed to prevent, identify, deter, and/or defend against unauthorized access to things and/or people.  When performing an assessment, review basic issues like determining if there’s adequate lighting, lockable doors, and windows, sufficient access control, visitor management practices, the functionality of mass notification systems, and clear routes for evacuation.   

Existing Plans, Policies, and Procedures 

These are the basis of any program and, therefore, should be reviewed as part of a WVPI assessment.  Assessing whether the program has a WVPI policy, implementation plans, incident management processes, emergency response protocols, and any other documentation that helps the program reach its aims is a great starting point.  If the documents don’t exist, the assessment should identify which should be developed.  If they do, the assessment should evaluate the effectiveness of the existing documentation.

Available Training 

Plans, policies, and procedures form the infrastructure for a program.  Training is a key means to implementing them.  Training also helps develop core competencies necessary for aligning an organization to the aims of the policy.  An assessment should identify what training is currently in place and evaluate how well it implements existing program documentation and develops core competencies needed within a WVPI program. 

Conclusion 

Vulnerability assessments are a key aspect of a WVPI program’s maturation process.  Performing them on a periodic basis can help identify continuous improvement opportunities and various ways to bolster prevention efforts.  Including the areas outlined above and evaluating them against prevailing standards and regulations is a great starting place for identifying areas for improvement. 

By Jake Newton, MA, VP of Security Solutions