Commander Cody wrote:I have worked at several hospitals. All that I worked for would provide a security guard to walk with the ladies to their cars. Tell her to ask.
I have been in nursing for 26+ years, and worked in Level I and Level II ERs for 17 of those years. The hospitals I have worked at have had several shootings, including two in the last couple of years at the one I worked at in East Texas. I did a travel assignment in Raleigh, about 20 yeas ago. A social worker was walking to her car when she was beaten, and killed. This hospital immediately started to offer shuttle services to and from the parking areas. Too little, too late.
The hospital in East Texas, that I mentioned, has very nice security guards, and they are armed...and a little long in the tooth...and not quicker than your average LEO to respond to a crisis. In one of the shooting incidences, the BG caught his ex-girlfriend right after she got out of her car. He shot her three times, including through her defensive hand and into her face. She recovered very well! In the other incident, a guy came through the front door and started shooting.
I can not be a hypocrite here. I kept my gun in my car while at the hospital. I was lucky enough to park in the physician's parking lot (I am a FNP-C). This placed me about 100 yards from a lock-card protected entrance. However, many of the people who work there park in the back 40, or further away. There is a shuttle service offered, but that simply is not a defensive measure. Everyone has to make up their own minds, but I could envision carrying a nice BUG size gun in a fanny pack (which many nurses wear), and then storing it in my locked locker. I would also envision NEVER telling anyone I worked with, under any circumstance, whatsoever, never, never, that I did this. Nurses love to talk, and there is no such thing as a secret in a hospital (unless they are getting ready to trim the workforce to meet some new and ridiculous budget).
Just a thought. IANAL, of course, and each person must understand the legal liability they would take upon themselves. I think the biggest drawback would be losing your job. You have to decide for yourself if the need for safety overrides your hospital policy.
RJ