I'm sure by now you've all seen the video surveillance footage of a woman who died in the emergency room at a hospital in Brooklyn. Esmen Green, 49, collapsed on the floor after spending 24-hours at the ER in Kings County Hospital. Staff members and security guards ignored her, as well as the rest of the people in the waiting room. So much for safety in numbers.
The AP reported that one guard didn't even leave his chair, rather he rolled it around a corner to stare at the body, then rolling away a few moments later. Wow.
Six people have been fired — including security personnel. Good. Rightfully, so.
If I were a security director, I'd argue that this incident makes a good case for 24/7 monitoring. It is costly to do it in house, so why not contract a third-party monitoring center. What about incorporating video analytics? Can a patient collapsing be set up as a alarm?
There is another issue here: I know we as a society have become complacent and many of us readily ignore other people's behavior. Case in point — I was walking through the mall last weekend and saw a man wearing a backpack. Why was he wearing a backpack in the mall? Was he a shoplifter, a terrorist or did he prefer to bring his own bag for purchases? It freaked me out for some reason, but I didn't say a thing. In my head, I argued that it was all fine.
Sure, stupid move on my part. I know better. You want to know who else should have known better — those hospital security guards.
