One of the most complex and challenging facilities to keep secure is a hospital. There are so many levels of security required and different types of access to address. The challenge from a security door standpoint is that you have a large campus, vertical or spread out, probably both. You have staff members that have to move freely throughout the campus, but much of the real estate needs to be monitored and have access control. Not everybody needs to be able to go everywhere, especially patients and visitors.

Many Factors to Consider

Every wing, every doorway merits careful consideration. How many cases would just require a door alarm? Delayed egress might be necessary. You could allow controlled egress, but at the same time the access control system needs to be set up. Do you go to the extent to including a laser detection device in some areas so non-authorized people don't slip in behind an authorized nurse or physician? It depends on the need for that particular section of the hospital.

There are similar issues outside these facilities. You want to make outdoor space available to staff members, and in some cases, the patients. But controlling access is very important. Delayed egress or an alarm access control system may be needed to monitor a gate for a courtyard.

Germ-Free Conditions

Another critical factor has to do with the spreading of germs and viruses. Germ free conditions are what every facility desires. Touch-free activation is much more prevalent. Card readers and the like are helpful so one never needs to touch the surface. Whether the door of an entryway or throughway swings toward you or away from you, a touchless device works with just a wave of the hand.

Manufacturers are starting to offer hospitals anti-microbial coatings for the doors and door hardware to prevent germs from living on the surface. This is not meant to circumvent cleaning. That will always be necessary. But for that time between cleanings, those surfaces are that much more safe.

Other Considerations

There are so many cross-corridor, fire-rated walls that have doors in them. When there's a fire, all the doors close and latch to keep fire in one section in the facility. Some doors are just there for a fire, and the magnetic contact releases and the doors close.

Lockdown has changed in the last 20 years. Hospitals need to consider what going to lockdown means. Protection from one particular kind of threat can sometimes trigger another.

Delayed egress used to be used a lot in retail. Today it's used primarily in healthcare environments. It's preventing residents from exiting a door or gate in their memory care facility. You don't want folks who suffer dementia to wander off campus where they can immediately get disoriented and lost.

There's so much going on at a hospital and many levels of security needs. The trick is to consider the wide range of potential scenarios.