For the Healthcare Security crowd... Transients

[Jedi]

Unfortunately, due to our location, our facility has a problem with transients. Most of the time, this is pretty easy to deal with, as we simply advise them that they are trespassing and escort them away. The problem comes with the few that have learned to game the system. Specifically, the will register to be seen in our Emergency Department, then go to our Cafe to beg for money. We escort them back up to the ED, but we can't kick them off our property since they are waiting to be seen.

So my question is how do other hospitals deal with these problem people?

[HotelSecurity]

It's around -20C these nights in Montreal. The homeless who refuse to go to shelters usually spend the day in the subway stations. At night when the stations close a lot of them make their way to nearby hotels, such as mine. They wander the hallways looking for left over food on trays that guests put outside their rooms then find a corner to sleep in. They also urinate in stairways etc & do not bathe. Quebec has not Trespass tp Property Act. So we can spend the night throwing out the same bum.

[sgtnewby]

Unfortunately, due to our location, our facility has a problem with transients. Most of the time, this is pretty easy to deal with, as we simply advise them that they are trespassing and escort them away. The problem comes with the few that have learned to game the system. Specifically, the will register to be seen in our Emergency Department, then go to our Cafe to beg for money. We escort them back up to the ED, but we can't kick them off our property since they are waiting to be seen.

So my question is how do other hospitals deal with these problem people?

What's your real name? Because, with your description of the transients "knowing the game," you must be one of my fellow officers at HCMC... We have the exact same problem. You find them pan handling, or sleeping, and they've been there for an hour or two, and as soon as you go to challenge them, all of the sudden, they need to see a doctor. We call it "Confrontational induced medical condition syndrome."

[Jedi]

Isn't it sad that this is such a widespread problem? For those readers not involved with healthcare security, the big issue here is that we can not refuse medical treatment to anyone, so as long as they are waiting to be seen, they can not be arrested for trespassing. Very frustrating.

[JSam21]

This is how we deal with it. We, like every other hospital, have our frequent flyers so we become well versed in who they are and what they do. They also know who we are and what we do. Nine times out of ten they will just leave knowing that they are going to get escorted out anyway.

We do have some people that we don't even let in the door in the ER. This is because they will say to the triage desk, "let everyone else go first, I'll wait". That is a statement that is a red flag to me so its time to go. These are the people who we know are going to cause a problem somewhere in the hospital or ER so we just stop it before it starts.

We do have some people that don't cause a problem and will just sit there in the waiting room all night untill the buses start running. I don't have a problem with them and I understand their prediciment. If you don't cause me any problems then you are fine. Stay in the ER, don't try to go to the cafe after it is closed, and don't tell me that you have been waiting 4 hours for the social worker.

[DeputyJ]

I am currently assigned to provide law enforcement services for our county hospitals, clinics and other properties. There are steps you can take to help control the situation. I don't know your status, but I know some of the hospital security officers on this site have powers of arrest (or are hospital cops themselves). Depending on your status and state/municipal codes you could issue the individuals citations for panhandling or interfering with a public business (or private if private hospital). I also make it a point to run the individuals for warrants. Most of the time, a warrant will come up for drinking in public or something similar. Every once in a while, I get lucky and the subject has a felony warrant. The individuals with minor warrants usually are advised and I hold it over their head. I tell them that if they aren't where they need to be, I'll arrest them on the warrant. Of course, the subjects with the felony warrants go to jail.

Medical staff may also work with you at the triage stage and determine if the transients are need of emergency medical care. If they are not they may be able to be referred to a health clinic or something similar. If that is the case, the individuals no longer have the legal right to be on the hospital property and then can be arrested/cited for trespassing.

I would also suggest learning where the homeless shelters are in the area and working with the social workers to refer the individuals to a shelter.

I wish you good luck.

Stay Safe

[Badge714]

What's your real name? Because, with your description of the transients "knowing the game," you must be one of my fellow officers at HCMC... We have the exact same problem. You find them pan handling, or sleeping, and they've been there for an hour or two, and as soon as you go to challenge them, all of the sudden, they need to see a doctor. We call it "Confrontational induced medical condition syndrome."

Don't you cuff them to gurneys anymore? Back when I worked at Cedar Square West, (Riverside Plaza), I was brought to the HCMC ER to be seen after being pushed down a flight of steps. While I was waiting, I saw at least 5 drunks cuffed to gurneys, and they all begged me for cigarettes!

[Lawson]

Don't you cuff them to gurneys anymore? Back when I worked at Cedar Square West, (Riverside Plaza), I was brought to the HCMC ER to be seen after being pushed down a flight of steps. While I was waiting, I saw at least 5 drunks cuffed to gurneys, and they all begged me for cigarettes!

Why would you cuff someone you want to leave to a gurney?

[Badge714]

Why would you cuff someone you want to leave to a gurney?

Keeps them from wandering around and bothering people while they're waiting to see the doc, I guess.

[mjw064]

Keeps them from wandering around and bothering people while they're waiting to see the doc, I guess.

uhh FALSE ARREST.

[gcmc security part 2]

uhh FALSE ARREST.

Nah, in FL if they're drunk we just place them under the Marchman Act and we are "holding them for their safety"

[HospitalOfficer]

The nice thing about the Hospital I work in, it is a Pediatric Level 1 Trauma Center and Hospital. When we see adults wandering around we know they are not there to be seen and they cannot sign in because they only treat Children there. When we get people who don't belong and refuse to leave we have no problem "helping" them leave.

[NRM_Oz]

I know of those hotel guests who help clean up left overs from room service. I was interstate 1 night and found 4 or 5 people in a lounge near the vending machines on my floor who were dining on left over seafood (including lobster). I rang the front desk and was told there was only 1 female manager on duty so I suggested she ring the police as I did not feel comfortable coming out to find unknowns in a hotel we had a conference in.

Hospitals have too many hidey holes for these people sneak into and just disappear for a few hours but thankfully our winters are about 1-2 C which we consider freezing cold weather in Sydney.

[buck]

I work in a private hospital and we don't get very many transients hiding out in the building but most of them have learned that walking up to someone with a name badge and saying they want to kill themselves gets them 5 days in our psych ward: warm clean bed, 3 square meals a day, and someone to talk to. For some of these guys it is the best they can get. We can't refuse them either (unless they abuse it too much and the Dr. in his comfy office notices).

Thankfully the transients we do get are less than semi intelligent. They try and sleep is the stairwells and low traffic hallways but we are pretty good about keeping things locked and the nurses are fairly observant when it comes to their safety. The last one made it a whole night, until someone smelled him the stairwell the next morning.

The biggest downside to these guys is having to restrain the ones who actually are missing a couple spark plugs-not because it bothers me but that they don't bathe for months and are sometimes still wearing the hospital gown they left in last fall.

[DMS 525]

My biggest transient problem was not in a hospital nor a hotel, but around a 16 story apartment building that was designed for the elderly. Well, after a few scares and an assault in broad daylight, folks were getting pretty spooked about staying there or even wanting to move in there in the first place, so our services were broadened to essentially put the run on anyone wanting to hang around and take advantage of anyone living there.

Never failed; just about every night, I'd find and put the run on 2-3 bums who were camping by a building next door. But one night, I got smart; I discovered that a window from the arts & crafts room on the 5th floor was right above where those bums hid to sleep. Just being ornery, I guess, but I obtained a few water balloons, and bombed them from up there! I had more than a few sputtering, cursing, drenched transients looking around for who to kill, but couldn't figure it out. After a while, the word must've gotten out, and we never saw any more around that building.