LA/OC IAHSS Recognizes Hospital Security Officers for Saving Lives, Outstanding Performances

Award recipient Cesar Ortega of St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare.

In January 2019, Cesar arrived on duty for his shift and found two men with no business on benches just outside of the main entry. Cesar approached the men and asked them to leave the property; one of them asked Cesar, “Who was going to make them to leave?” Cesar told him he was going to call the police.

The subject put his right hand in his pocket and pulled out a knife, put it in his left hand and he said to Cesar, “By the time police come, you’re going to be on the floor.”

Cesar walked inside the building, waited for the double door to close and secure, and proceeded to call the police, giving descriptions of the two men.

In May 2019, there was an aggravated man in a parking structure. The subject was punching the telephone room doors multiple times as well as hitting the gate. He had thrown some items on his person from a bag onto the floor and was kicking them around while yelling profanities at patients and bystanders.

Cesar had cautiously approached the subject while another security officer was on the phone with the Santa Ana Police Department. The aggravated man was circling Cesar, trying to get in an attack position. As the aggravated man started to come towards Cesar, Cesar immediately headed out of the parking structure towards the facility and took a defensive stance as the aggravated man started to assault him.

Cesar kept backing up towards the facility and diverting the subject’s attention to himself instead of other patients and bystanders.