The facility is located close to a busy train station
and advocates that staff use the buddy system when
leaving. "I always send all-staff emails to remind them
to walk with a buddy to their cars or the train, or to
carry pepper spray or a taser if they're walking to their
cars late at night," says Ms. Wellott. The clinic has
taken this action a step further by adjusting its securi-
ty department's work schedule. The morning guard
arrives at 6:30 a.m., and a guard is on duty at night to
escort patients into the building's sleep center. The
staff has the guard's phone number in case they need
his help or notice something suspicious.
Each year, the facility conducts four employee
safety training sessions and four fire drills. "We per-
form yearly risk assessments and focus the train-
ings on events that might impact our staff," says Ms.
Wellott. "We actually faced a bomb scare last year
that ended up being an empty bag left by the train
station. But our staff was prepared and knew what
to do."
S
E P T E M B E R 2 0 2 0 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y . N E T • 3 3
SAFETY NET Staff can easily report any work-related issues or concerns that they
have to The Safety Net, the clinic's online monitoring system.
Wendy
Wellott,
RN
