How a Hospital Public Safety Director Saved His Employee’s Life
Following up with an employee at home who had COVID enabled Kyle Houraney to identify that the man’s life was in danger.
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As a security executive, you never know when the information and training you’ve received over the years might help you save someone’s life. That’s what happened to Kyle Houraney, Orange County Global Medical Center’s director of public safety and emergency management, when he found out that one of his employees tested positive for COVID.
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Houraney had previously received training as an EMT, so he understood that because the employee had asthma, the situation was extremely serious.
“Because of his pre-existing condition, I wanted to keep an extra eye on him” says Houraney. “The second we sent him home, I said, ‘Look, go onto Amazon, order yourself a blood pressure cuff and pulse oximeter’ so he could keep an eye on his blood oxygen levels.”
Houraney then frequently checked on the employee at his home, and when he noticed the employee was struggling to breathe, told the employee to go immediately to the emergency room. That advice saved the employee’s life and is just one reason why Houraney is a finalist in this year’s Director of the Year awards program.
In our interview, Houraney describes:
- How the medical emergency unfolded over several days: 1:34
- How his background and training helped him identify the situation as being life-threatening: 4:54
- How his management style enabled him to develop such a close and trusting relationship with his employees: 6:48
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About the Author
Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief
Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.
