Nebraska Medicine and UNMC remain committed to providing a secure environment for our patients, visitors, staff, students and faculty.
Hospitals and universities across the country face challenges and evolving security threats. In an effort to minimize potential threats to our campus, Nebraska Medicine and UNMC leadership has assembled a security team and consulted a third-party security firm to assess the campus and make recommendations.
The consultant recommended limiting the number of entrances to the hospital towers. We currently have 174 entrances which result in direct or indirect access to the hospital (this includes connected buildings).
The team, led by Joe Eggen, construction project manager, facilities, assessed each of these doors and made a unanimous decision to minimize the number of entrances. Effective immediately, there will be 58 unlocked doors during business hours. One hundred fifteen doors will be “exit only” doors and one door will remain a guarded entrance. The guarded entrance is in the emergency department, where an off-duty Omaha police officer is employed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Facilities is in the process of placing permanent signage at the “exit only” doors so people are aware they can exit the door, but they will no longer be able to enter at that point.
After 8:30 p.m. each evening, there will be only three public entrances: Clarkson Tower, Durham Outpatient Center and the emergency department. Security officers are available and present at those entrances during off hours from 8:30 p.m. to 4:30 a.m. The ED entrance will be staffed around the clock by off-duty OPD officers.
The security team will continue to make improvements to enhance campus safety. They ask employees, students and faculty to be aware of their environment. If you see something, say something. Report concerns to your supervisor or campus security right away so the situation can be investigated. We all have a responsibility to keep our patients, visitors and colleagues safe!
Great. This is good news
I agree, this makes me feel more secure. Will these be exit doors be noted as such for the general public, but still have employee card access to doors? I have often thought the exterior doors to BTH should red light much earlier in the evening than they do.