Three healthcare security officers from Canada received medals of valor and merit from the International Association for Hospital Security and Safety (IAHSS) on June 23 for disarming a violent, suicidal patient and preventing another suicide. They and others were honored at the IAHSS 41st Annual General Membership Meeting and Seminar for their dedication and achievement to healthcare security and safety.
Officer Michael Hearn of the Rouge Valley Health System in Toronto, Ontario, was presented the medal of valor for successfully disarming a violent and disruptive emergency room patient on April 16, 2008.
“[The patient] had slit his own throat from ear to ear and then stabbed himself in the stomach,” says Martin Green, manager of security and parking for Rouge Valley Health System. “When he collapsed to the floor, he had the knife sticking out of his stomach and he tried to reach for it. There was a police officer in the emergency room who was ready to shoot the guy.” To avoid a shooting, Hearn restrained the patient until appropriately controlled. Hearn suffered minor injuries as the result of his intervention.
“We’re just incredibly proud that he was recognized by his peers,” adds Martin.
Officers Joshua Crewe and Aaron Haggerty of St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia, each received the medal of merit for their June 15, 2008 cooperative response to a 9-1-1 call from a discharged patient who was making suicidal threats. After responding to the location from which the call originated and not finding the caller, the two officers determined she had moved to an adjacent site. At that location, Crew and Haggerty found the individual to have secured a tensor wrap around her neck with an end secured to an elevated step in a parking garage. Crewe immediately removed the material from the stair while officer Haggerty secured the still conscious individual who then attempted further self injury. The individual was subsequently returned to the hospital.
All three medals were presented by IAHSS Immediate Past President William A. Farnsworth, Jr., CHPA during the annual President’s Awards reception. Additional awards presented during the event included:
- Carolinas Healthcare System the Lindberg Bell Program of Distinction
- British Columbia IAHSS Chapter the IAHSS Chapter of Distinction
- Inland Empire IAHSS California Chapter the Chapter Newsletter
- Becky A. Strode, CHPA, Kadlec Medical Center, West Richland, Wash., the Poster Award