The Use of K9 Security in Healthcare Settings: Learnings from Phoenix Children’s Hospital

Updated on June 8, 2024.

Highly trained K9 security teams can serve a crucial role protecting hospitals and medical institutions, whether by de-escalating potentially violent situations, by handling crowd management, or by just acting as a visual deterrent. Although K9 teams are common in other industries, their use in healthcare is innovative.

Our partners at PCH have a unique K9 program that stands out for its use in a pediatric care setting. During our recent webinar, the Director Security and Safety at Phoenix Children's Hospital, Craig M. Crosby, MHL, FACHE, CHPA talked about the role K9 dogs play in healthcare security and about his program in particular.

Why use K9 patrols in a hospital setting?

Mr. Crosby explains, “Daily, we need to respond to various cases of violence in our hospital. K9 dogs help inspecting visitors and ensuring that no firearms are brought inside of the perimeter.” A well-trained K9 may patrol not just the exterior, but also the patient care and service areas of a healthcare facility.

Aggressive behaviour is widespread in hospital settings. The hostile and potentially violent patient or caregiver, however, should be treated as a patient in need of assistance, not as a criminal. Therefore, the security approach must use techniques to de-escalate and calm patients and visitors, while preventing inappropriate hostile conduct. In the pediatric setting, it’s even more crucial.

“With the dynamic of healthcare security, people are always looking for innovative ways to increase their security capabilities. Of course, there already are various security tools and programs, but K9 patrols are unique thanks to their capacity to address different levels of use of force in a sensitive pediatric environment,” adds Crosby.

Evaluating the success of a K9 security program in a healthcare facility

When asked about how to evaluate the success of his K9 program, Mr. Crosby explained that they annually track their data related to crime inside the facility. “Another way we track the success of this operation is the direct, positive feedback from patients and their family,” he explains.

Phoenix’ Children’s is not the only K9 success story. According to findings, facilities that have deployed K9 units experience significant a decrease in crime and violence.

In the future, it’s expected that the use of K9 security for healthcare facilities will continue to rise as they look new approaches to defend their officers, staff, and visitors.

To learn more about the K9 security program at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, download our case study.