Establish a dedicated source of federal funding to secure our nation’s hospitals

• Ensuring the physical security of the millions of patients, healthcare professionals, and visitors to our nation’s 5,000 hospitals is a public health issue deserving greater attention by federal policymakers.
• Port facilities, public transit systems, and other components of our nation’s critical infrastructure already receive substantial federal financial assistance for physical security assessments and enhancements. The federal government does not administer a grant program for hospitals to purchase needed security products and services.
• The Security Industry Association (SIA) developed the “Securing America’s Hospitals Act of 2008,” legislation that authorizes $500 million in federal grant funds for hospitals to invest in physical security. Modeled after the Port Security Grant Program and the Public Transportation Security Assistance Program, this proposal calls for the Department of Health and Human Services to administer funds for the acquisition, installation, or use of electronic technology including access control systems; identification credentials; bomb detection devices; video surveillance cameras; locking devices; and mass annunciation systems.
• The proposed legislation would limit each grant award to $100,000 annually so the maximum number of hospitals, regardless of geographic location or bed size, can participate in the program. The federal share of the program would be 100% for projects less than $25,000, 90% for projects between $25,000 and $50,000 and 80% for larger projects.
• The proposed “Securing America’s Hospitals Act” is supported by the International Association of Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS), the leading voice for professionals involved in managing and directing security and safety programs in healthcare institutions.
• IAHSS issued the following statement in support of hospital security grant legislation, “There has been, of course, improvement in many healthcare facility protection programs; however, overall progress is nominal. Above and beyond the daily incidents that challenge healthcare, many facilities do not have the resources to appropriately protect their environment. Whether due to a lack of mandated security regulations or the unique cost-pressures placed on our nation’s healthcare delivery system serving uninsured and underinsured patients; the funding allocated to protect these critical infrastructures is severely limited.”

For More Information, contact
Don Erickson
SIA’s Director of Government Relations
703-647-8484 or derickson@siaonline.org