I’m sure many of you have read about recent acts of aggressive behavior and violence toward health care workers across our country. No matter where they occur, they are stirring reminders of the challenges we face in keeping our St. Charles facilities a safe and healing place for all — patients, their families and our caregivers.
That’s a responsibility we take very seriously. Our health system has not, does not and will not tolerate abusive or violent behavior on our properties, which is why we’ve undertaken a number of initiatives over the past few years aimed at improving security at St. Charles and preventing violence toward our caregivers.
We have installed cameras in parking lots, protective barriers in Emergency Departments and highly visible signage emphasizing our behavior expectations. We’ve invested in patrol vehicles and replaced contract security with system-employed officers. We’ve developed tools in our electronic health record to help make our caregivers and Security team aware of patients who have acted aggressively. And we’re not done — we are committed to working within our system and with our community partners to continue these kinds of efforts.
Safety is a year-round pursuit in health care, of course, but this topic has been on my mind lately because in May we celebrated Health Care Week — a time set aside to honor all of our caregivers. And let me tell you: They deserve whatever thoughts, prayers, recognitions or celebrations you might have for them. They work hard for our patients and the community. They care deeply about our patients and the community. They are the lifeblood of St. Charles, and it’s important to me that we provide them with the time, tools and space they need to do what they do to the very best of their ability.
I know you want that, too. And you can rest assured that we will continue to do all we can to make St. Charles a place that feels safe, secure and supportive.
Sincerely,
Steve
