Nantucket Cottage Hospital has never had a formal security force as most hospitals do, instead relying upon the Nantucket Police Department to respond when a patient becomes violent or threatening.
But that will soon change as the hospital is now looking to hire three new security guards to patrol the hospital and protect patients, staff, and visitors. The positions were recently posted on the hospital’s website.
“The value of having a more robust security staff is something NCH staff members have brought up over the last year,” said James Lanza, the hospital’s public information manager. “Since it was first identified, our team has been working with Mass General Brigham Police and local public safety, to find how to best expand our security footprint to protect both patients and our staff.”
The hospital does currently employ a security manager, a position that was created several years ago, but it has never had a dedicated security presence patrolling the facility and campus overnight or on weekends.
The number of reported incidents of violence against healthcare workers nationwide is rising, and at Nantucket Cottage Hospital, where behavioral health patients are often boarded before they can be transferred to a psychiatric hospital on the mainland, the topic has long been discussed as a potential risk.
