North Texas hospitals reviewing security after 2 killed in Dallas hospital shooting

DALLAS – Dallas Methodist Medical Center is making security changes after two hospital employees were murdered.

Other hospitals are reviewing their security as well.

This is not a new concern for many of the largest campuses where people come and go at all hours.

After an increase in violence and shootings across the country, and after the killing of two health care workers in Dallas Saturday, North Texas hospitals are doing self-examinations of security measures.

“Hospitals have always had plans to detect and deter violence in hospitals,” said Dr. Stephen Love, with the Dallas Fort Worth Hospital Council.

That has increased since Saturday’s shooting inside Methodist Hospital’s mothers/baby unit that killed two innocent women, a nurse and a social worker.

RELATED: 2 hospital employees killed in shooting at Methodist Hospital in Dallas, suspect in custody

“We try to monitor the entrance and exits and the in-take places of a hospital or an outpatient clinic or even in a medical office building, and monitor, I mean, have security people in place,” Love explained.

Methodist Medical Center is making security changes.

Visitors must leave by 7 p.m. and can only enter through four designated doors.

All doors will be locked after 7 p.m., except the emergency room, and Methodist is recruiting more officers.

“We do have metal detectors, hand wands, that we can move to different locations as needed,” Dallas County Hospital District Police Department Chief Marlin Suell said.

RELATED: Methodist Dallas increasing security at hospital after shooting kills two nurses

Suell oversees 111 police officers for Parkland’s main campus and 15 community clinics.

Emergency rooms appear to be the epicenter of violence.

“Most of the time, those are situations didn’t start here but they could end here because people are here seeking some type of medical attention,” Suell said. “We have a volume of workplace violence here sometimes just because of the people that come on our campus.”

Six months ago, Parkland began risk and vulnerability assessment, bringing in third party security consultants, Force Protect.

“We’re basically looking for the holes in the cheese, for lack of a better term,” said Frank Finley, with Force Protect.

Active shooter training is procedure for all hospitals now.

“Active shooter might be a low likelihood, but the impact of loss can shut down operations, so it’s worthy of attention,” Finley added.

And while some security systems are hidden from obvious view, Finley said some should be highly visible.

“There are more passive and aesthetically pleasing systems out there that you can put in place that a patient wouldn’t even know they are undergoing any kind of screening, but it’s also not bad sometimes based on risk to put measures in place that are in your face because those form a visual deterrent,” Finley said.

RELATED: DFW hospitals hold moment of silence for healthcare workers killed in Dallas hospital shooting

The challenge is creating ways to prevent hurt in places where people come for help.

“And at the same time, provide a welcoming atmosphere for family and friends to visit,” Love said. “I do admit it’s a very delicate balance.”

Finley said with all that’s happened since COVID-19, hospital administrators are more readily receiving security recommendations they may have said no to before

Baylor Scott & White sent a statement without specific security changes saying, “We are reinforcing safety measures and emotional support offerings across our health system.”