Security is a critical function for Assisted Living and Skilled Nursing facility operators. Residents are vulnerable to safety and privacy issues if facilities don’t manage the flow of people entering the building. Unauthorized visitors pose a threat of physical or emotional harm, theft, or abuse. As the operator of an Assisted Living or Skilled Nursing facility, it is your responsibility to protect your residents and staff.
The challenge is balancing an open-door policy with safety and security needs. Many individuals need access to the campus buildings on any given day to conduct business or visit residents. These may include contractors and vendors (think building maintenance workers, outside healthcare providers, or food/pharmacy delivery personnel), resident’s family members, friends, volunteers, and other visitors.
Here are 8 tips to increase the security of your assisted living or skilled nursing facility:
- Create a Visitor Policy that addresses the types of visitors who may access the buildings and grounds. Include plans that allow immediate family or other relatives 24-hour access to their loved one.
- Publish your policies on your website so that Visitors know the situation before they come to your facility.
- Implement a Visitor Management System (VMS). Your facility should take an active role in controlling access to your facility. A VMS collects accurate and reliable visitor details and sign-in history for every person entering your building or campus. A VMS allows you to keep a record of every visitor who has entered your facility. The VMS can be as simple as sign-in books or comprehensive as an enterprise electronic visitor registration system.
Here are a few things to look for when purchasing a VMS:
– The system prints a visitor badge that shows everyone that person has been processed through your sign-in system for extra security, consider using time-expiring visitor badges that change color overnight to prevent reuse. These badges VOID over time so you can easily see if someone has not signed in that day. Many systems can send visitation policies via email or text in advance of the arrival assuring visitors know what to expect.
– It should include robust reporting features that provide visitor history and meet management needs for tracking, etc.
– A visitor management system may also offer a “flag or alert” function. The resident, staff, security, and administration can flag a person based on prior behavior. Train your staff on how to respond when a flagged visitor returns. The visitor management system can assist in organizational duties as well. For example, knowing how many visitors come and what peak arrival times are allows you to make strategic decisions for staffing. Analyzing Visitor traffic can also help you decide how to arrange your lobbies or common areas to better manage the flow of people.
- Establish Visiting Hours: specify hours during which visitors may access the building. These hours may vary depending on the purpose of the visit, i.e., vendor visits may be restricted to Monday through Friday 8:00AM to 3:00PM. Explain how residents’ families can access the building after hours or when doors are locked.
- Develop policies and procedures to document and address any “visitor incident”. Train staff on these policies.
- Reduce theft by securing valuables out of sight. Recommend that residents keep valuables in a secure place within their private space or lock their doors, if appropriate.
- Signage: Have signage clearly stating Visitor policies in a public area to make it easy for guests to read and comply. Use signage to indicate areas that are restricted or accessible to staff only. Areas that pose public safety hazards should be labeled and remain locked, such as areas of high voltage, HVAC, and generator rooms. Signs should be in multiple languages when appropriate for your population.
- Identify and secure areas of potential harm, such as HVAC systems, food prep, and supply storage areas, etc.
Call THRESHOLD at 800-243-1969 to learn how our Visitor Management Systems and Badges can help you increase security at your facility.
It’s easy and free to activate this feature. Simply call us and ask for “Red Flag, No Badge” to be turned on. Once it’s on, the above pop-up will come up when a red flagged visitor comes back. No badge will print and the attendant will need to follow the facility’s policy for handling red flagged visitors.