Steve Nibbelink is new IHSSF president

GLENDALE HEIGHTS, Ill.—There were 154 shootings at U.S. hospitals in 40 states between 2000 and 2011. More recent statistics on crime and weapons in health-care facilities will be the subject of a pair of studies the International Healthcare Security and Safety Foundation will take on in 2014, according to incoming president Steve Nibbelink.

The foundation will examine the number and type of weapons taken into hospitals and other health facilities, and look at crime statistics, to show what's trending in order to give senior security leaders information that will guide their plans and investments, said Nibbelink.

The non-profit philanthropic arm of the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety, IHSSF supports the association through fundraising, networking and awards programs. It funds and conducts research to help develop guidelines and best practices for health-care and security professionals, said Nibbelink.

“The foundation's primary goal is to support health-care security leaders in the marketplace globally and part of that is doing research,” said Nibbelink, who takes over for outgoing president Ed Stedman.

“A hospital is a city and a world unto itself, with such a dynamic flow of people and things throughout the day,” he said.

The challenge of healthcare security is to manage the flow of patients, visitors, staff and service people, creating a welcoming but secure environment, he said. IHSSF research provides data that security professionals can rely on when they explain why they need more staff, more security or more money for their efforts, said Nibbelink.

Stedman said of Nibbelink, “He's a more than appropriate person to lead the foundation the next two years. We both believe in it and we strongly desire it to become successful in the future.”