Hospital Survey Reveals 2018 Security Investment Plans

Believe it or not, the new year is just around the corner, and hospital security professionals already have big plans for 2018.

Campus Safety had previously used results from our 2017 Hospital Security Survey to give you insights on healthcare budget, crime and staffing levels. We also ranked the 15 most common types of hospital security officer training.

Today we’re looking at 2018 security purchasing plans, ranking the 20 types of security equipment and systems hospital officials say they’re most likely to invest in during the upcoming year.

In some cases, the timing of these security upgrades may be driven by new budgets (42 percent of our respondents expect their budgets to grow in 2018). In others, they’re the result of many months of work explaining to hospital executives the importance of bolstering specific aspects of a facility’s security efforts. In still others, the plans may be a reaction to a specific incident that demonstrated a vulnerability.

Source: Campus Safety’s 2017 Hospital Security Survey.

Regardless of the reasoning behind the security purchasing plans, taking steps to improve the safety of your community is always a good idea. No facility or campus is immune to an attack, and risk mitigation is an ongoing process.

You can view the top security systems and equipment hospitals will be purchasing in 2018 here.

More than 350 hospital public safety, security and emergency management professionals participated in the 2017 Hospital Security Survey (CS thanks all those who took the time to submit their answers!).

Before checking out the 2018 hospital security equipment rankings, it could be useful to review the percentage of hospitals who have purchased certain security equipment so far in 2017. This obviously affects whether or not a hospital is planning on purchasing related equipment or systems going forward.

Below is the ranking of security systems that hospital officials say their institution purchased or is purchasing in 2017.

1. Video surveillance (81 percent of respondents’ institutions purchased this equipment in 2017)
2. Physical access control/key management (60 percent)
3. Emergency communication/two way radios (53 percent)
4. ID badging/visitor management (47 percent)
5. Patrol vehicles (cars, bicycles and other modes of transportation) (36 percent)
6. Less-lethal weapons (25 percent)
7. Mass notification/emergency notification (23 percent)
8. Laptops, PDAs and other mobile computer equipment (23 percent)
9. Parking management/traffic control equipment and systems (21 percent)
10. Infant abduction prevention solutions (20 percent)
11. Contract guard services (19 percent) 
12. Fire alarms, sprinklers, carbon monoxide detection (18 percent)
13. IT infrastructure (18 percent)
14. Dispatch systems and software (18 percent)
15. Electronic security systems integration services (18 percent)
16. Emergency lighting (18 percent)
17. Call boxes (15 percent)
18. Gates, turnstiles, bollards and barriers (15 percent)

Surprisingly, there’s a good amount of consistency between hospital officials’ 2017 security purchases and their 2018 plans. This might suggest these systems are being installed in phases, or that the overall installation process can span multiple years.

Now check out the top security systems and equipment hospitals plan on purchasing in 2018!

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