Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon will be the second hospital in New Hampshire to outfit its security officers with a “nonlethal device” that can record interactions with unruly patients or visitors, shine a laser pointer on them and even hit them with a stream of pepper gel, according to an article on the Valley News website.
The handheld devices come equipped with a camera, audio recorder, siren, strobe light, laser spotter and pepper gel to defuse high-stress situations.
“(It’s) a defensive tool, one that should be used rarely. But it adds something to be able to respond to a high-level situation,” according to a hospital official.
The facility's security officers are currently limited to verbal and hands-on de-escalation methods, and are only armed with handcuffs.
Healthcare Is the New Retail
Bridgeway Behavioral Health Services Launches Campaign to Renovate Health Center
Ground Broken for New North Dakota State Hospital
AI Usage for Healthcare Facilities
Ground Broken on Pelican Valley Senior Living Modernization Project