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.
Making Multi-Site Lighting Upgrades Work
Designing a Positive Care Destination for Children
Blackbird Health Opens 10th Clinic in Pennsylvania
Healthcare Construction Infection Control: Essential CDC Guidelines for Active Facilities
Protecting the Most Vulnerable: Inside the NICU