July 23, 2019
MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital launches Puget Sound’s first hospital-based K9 security program
MultiCare Tacoma General Hospital, part of Washington state’s largest locally governed health system, has launched a new K9 security program to provide an added level of safety for patients, visitors and staff. The K9 security program represents the first hospital-based canine program in the Puget Sound and is one of only a small percentage found in hospitals across the country.
“Emotions can run high in hospital settings — especially when you consider the natural anxiety that can accompany an emergency department visit or following a traumatic event,” said Sharon Oxendale, President/COO of MultiCare Tacoma General/Allenmore hospitals. “Having a K9 presence is sometimes all you need to diffuse emotional situations that sometimes occur in emergency rooms.”
At the center of the program is a three-year-old German Shepherd named Officer Ben and his handler, a K9 security officer named Brian Phillips. The two met for the first time in January 2019 and, since that time, have undergone extensive training and certification. They then embarked on a 90-day pilot program at Tacoma General Hospital that concluded at the end of April.
The pilot reduced the number of assaults by 33 percent compared, year-over-year, to the same 90-day period in 2018.
“Over the course of three months, we interacted with hundreds of staff members, patients and visitors and I can’t remember a single person who had a negative reaction to Ben,” said Phillips. “A lot of people refer to him as a ‘rock star’ and are clearly happy to have him around.”
In addition to helping de-escalate more than 60 incidents during the pilot program, Ben also provided inspiration and comfort to some of the hospital’s patients, including young children who were facing stressful situations.
“It was really gratifying to see Ben interacting with some of the kids — and really a lot of adults too — who were facing tough situations and just wanted some down time to hang with Ben,” said MultiCare’s Regional Director of Security Services, Emergency Management and Business Continuity, Radford Garrison. “Animals like Ben can have a calming effect and can help bring smiles and patience to kids who might otherwise feel overly emotional.”
Based on the success of the pilot program, MultiCare is looking to add another dog to the canine unit by the end of this fall with patrols at both Auburn Medical Center and Covington Medical Center.