New Security Design Guidelines for Healthcare Facilities

The International Healthcare Security & Safety Foundation (IHSS) has released the 2012 edition of the Security Design Guidelines for Healthcare Facilities. The guidelines are intended to be used by security and design professionals for renovations and new construction.

“In comparing the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS) Basic Industry Guidelines with the Healthcare Facility Design Guidelines, readers should be aware that the Basic Industry Guidelines are more operationally focused and less prescriptive,” the guidelines claim. “By their nature, the Design Guidelines are more prescriptive and developed to assist security leaders, design professionals and planning staff to build security into each new construction and renovation project.

“By reasonably addressing security risks up front and early on during design, organizations can cost effectively address the safety and security of new or renovated space. These steps will help reduce the potential for security features either not being designed into new space or added on as an afterthought, or becoming 'value engineered' out as projects face limited budget dollars. The intent of integrating these guidelines early in the design process is to emphasize the importance, incorporate the work into other aspects of the project and ultimately to avoid expensive change orders, retrofits or other liabilities incurred by the omission of appropriate planning for a safe and secure environment.”