Investigation into Western Psych shooting to result in security changes

District Attorney Stephen Zappala said UPMC will be making security changes to many of its…District Attorney Stephen Zappala said UPMC will be making security changes to many of its health care centers across Pittsburgh.

After the March shooting at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic that left two dead and seven injured, the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center led two simultaneous investigations into security at WPIC and other medical center buildings. The proposed changes in policy come as a result of these investigations.

“Our teams have been working together,” Zappala said. “UPMC put together a team to look into all their facilities.”

Zappala said that the changes will shorten emergency response times.

“Get me in the building quicker, get my eyes in the building,” Zappala said, describing two of the aims of UPMC’s new security procedures.

Among the proposed changes are swipe-card access to buildings for hospital staff, an armed police presence in the building and improved camera surveillance.

Currently, the entrance to WPIC is supervised by a Pitt police officer and private security guard. Guests are required to sign in before going farther into the facility.

Harsh Trivedi, executive medical director and chief of staff for Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital, said security at hospitals can be a tricky issue, especially when dealing with psychiatric facilities.

“It’s an ever-evolving landscape,” Trivedi said. “We try and balance safety and civil liberties.”

People who go to Vanderbilt Psychiatric Hospital for serious treatment are held in a separate waiting room with higher security than other patients and visitors.

Like Pitt, Vanderbilt University contains several hospitals and clinics on its campus. It’s also located just outside of a major city, Nashville, Tenn.

Vanderbilt University also has its own police force, in addition to some volunteers and private security personnel. According to Trivedi, however, campus police are the only staff that would respond to a serious security incident like the one that occurred at WPIC last spring.

Whether or not the Pitt police has the staff to provide all of UPMC’s Oakland buildings with the armed presence Zappala hopes for is unclear.

Pitt Police Chief Tim Delaney declined to comment on how proposed changes would affect his force.

UPMC spokeswoman Gloria Kreps also declined to comment, except to say that the plans are still in the evaluation process.

UPMC’s investigative team presented their findings to the UPMC Board of Directors on Sept. 14.

“They took this very seriously,” Zappala said. “I’m very pleased.”