Privacy & Security in the ED at UIC
During our visit to the new emergency department at University of Illinois hospital system, I felt like there was a lack of a sense of privacy. I guess privacy is something you give up when you visit a place like this where your stay is only temporary; and with the flux of the number of people coming in it’s more important for the staff to always be aware of what is happening.
When discussing the sliding glass panel doors, our tour guide mentioned that it provided their patients privacy. What was meant by that was that they are protecting their patient’s HIPAA (Health Information Privacy Act). The sliding glass doors allow for private conversations to happen, but everyone can still see what you are doing in the room. The glass doors benefit the nurses because it allows them to keep an eye on their patients. However as a patient you lose your sense of privacy in the ED. The positive side is that most people do not spend more than roughly 6 hours in the ED a day, so typically the patients are in and out of the space. As we traveled through the ED, the nurses station felt crowded and the only thing separating the beds from each other were curtains.
http://www.stanleyaccess.com/hospital-door
This image is an example of a typical patient room with operable sliding doors.
A major concern for the ED department is that they are not secure for an active shooter. While the addition of glass provides light and makes the space feel larger than it is, it also creates easy visual access for an active shooter. The security officer’s office is located at the front, but their line of sight is blocked; which could lead to difficulty their response to a crisis. There are only three means of egress in the department and many blind spots spread throughout. This has caused the hospital to engage in discussions about emergency responses in specific scenarios.
Most of their patients are not students at the University, but people living within the surrounding community. Their payer mix consists of Medicaid & Medicare and some private insurance. The ED sees many cases of homeless people, and many times these people are coming in searching for a place to sleep for the night.
While there have been great improvements to the ED, I believe with expansion the ED at U of I can operate more efficiently for the staff and the patients.
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