More than 120 security professionals, medical personnel, law enforcement representatives and more attended Minimizing the Risk of Violence in the Hospital Setting Feb. 1, at the City of Industry’s Pacific Palms Conference Center and Resort.

Co-sponsored by Optima Healthcare Insurance Services, California Healthcare Insurance, and AllHealth Security Services, the day-long seminar featured several expert presenters familiar with the challenges of optimizing security in health care facilities.

In “Transforming Your Hospital to a Secure, Customer Oriented Culture,” Steven Fellows of Cottage Health System recounted the process of establishing a safe environment for his patients and staff while maintaining a customer-friendly environment across various facilities and patient populations.

Doc Elliot of New World Education/MABPRO presented on the “Dynamics of Violence in the Health Care Setting.” Elliot looked at the roots of violent behavior and presented profiling techniques to help staff recognize potentially violent interactions and de-escalate behavior before it becomes violent.

Catherine Carson of HASC led a panel presentation on performance improvement and clinical risk management. Panelists included Cari Tonek, Director Performance Improvement/Clinical Risk Management, Methodist Hospital of Southern California; Wray Ryback, Risk Manager, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center; and Sandra Davis-Houston, VP, Human Resources, California Hospital Medical Center/Glendale Memorial Hospital.

William Dunne of Ronald Regan UCLA Medical Center/Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center/Orthopedic Hospital, addressed training personnel to properly respond to violence in “Strategies for Connecting and Interacting with Disruptive Patients, Family and Staff.” And HASC’s Aviva Truesdell, Senior Vice President, AllHealth Security Services, and an expert in hospital security, presented guidelines for effective security assessments in health care settings.

In a post-event survey, 99 percent of attendees said the conference met the stated learning objectives and they can apply what they learned to their jobs.