from https://www.umassmed.edu/globalassets/public-safety/2023-clery-report-finalpdf.pdf
worcester massachusetts - at the chan medical school SECTION 10: WORCESTER VA CLINIC Overview All policies and procedures pertaining to Worcester Veterans Affairs, (VA) and other sites owned and operated by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs can be found at VA Policies . The Worcester VA is an outpatient clinic that offers primary care and specialty health services, including laboratory services, physical therapy, nutrition counseling, radiology, and more. The information presented in this section is specific to the Worcester VA Clinic located at mailing address 403 Belmont Street, 1st Floor, Worcester, MA 01604 on the UMass Chan Medical Schools campus at 55 Lake Ave N, Worcester MA, 01655. As a hospital licensed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Public Health and accredited by The Joint Commission, Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, and College of the American Pathologist, the VA is required to develop and has developed an emergency preparedness and a security program that protect staff, patients, and visitors at each of its licensed facilities, as described below. The Worcester VA operates its own Police Department, with a total staff of four (4) armed personnel. These Police officers are chosen based on their understanding of the role of security in health care. The VA’s Police Department works closely with local law enforcement officials as well as UMass Chan Medical School Police Department to maintain a safe environment, proactively prevent incidents, and address any incidents or concerns that may arise. VA police and local law enforcement partners train together on skills and tactics such as active threat drills, crisis intervention training, disaster response, and more. All VA Police Department personnel are armed uniformed federal law enforcement officers. They receive extensive training in, among other things, non-violent crisis intervention, use of force, patrol procedures, bomb threat and search techniques, civil disturbance management, disaster plan procedures, and FEMA incident command systems. VA Police practice Veteran Centric Policing, a model through Voluntary Compliance and Visible Deterrence to protect and serve Veterans and visitors alike. They provide law enforcement and security services to Veterans and their families at VA medical centers and other VA health facilities. Services include crime prevention and investigation, maintaining law and order, vehicle and foot patrols, telecommunication services, and workplace violence prevention. As a part of its mission to “protect those who served,” VA police across the country since 2023 use in-car and body-worn cameras. This policy increases the safety of VA facilities by promoting transparency and accountability. Timely Warnings and Notification of an Immediate Threat: The Worcester VA Police Department works with UMass Chan Police to issue alerts to the UMass Chan community, based on a case-by-case review, with alerts being sent if there is a discernible pattern of crime (e.g., property crimes in the vicinity) or if there is otherwise an ongoing threat to the UMass Chan community. Such alerts are issued to those who have opted into the Alert Media system, an app that can be downloaded on a phone. In addition, UMass Chan is able to issue an overhead announcement system in the event of an imminent and ongoing threat. These alerts are disseminated with the goal of notifying as many people as possible, as rapidly as possible. All members of the UMass Chan and VA community are encouraged to opt into this notification system. Texts of the notification system are conducted quarterly. UMass Chan Medical School 55 Lake Avenue North, Worcester, MA 01655 www.umassmed.edu 79 Emergency Response and Evacuation Procedures: Consistent with state and federal requirements and accreditation standards of The Joint Commission, and the Worcester VA has developed a security management plan with local and state police, as well as emergency operations plan those addresses in detail, systems, procedures, and processes to ensure safety and security of employees, patients, and visitors in the event of an emergency or disaster. In addition, the VA Police Department policies address specific types of events, including, but not limited to, active shooter situations, emergency evacuations, and instances when patients or visitors are displaying violent behavior. Facilities Safety and Security: The Worcester VA Department personnel are present during normal working hours and maintain a 24/7 presence with video and electronic monitoring at the Worcester location. As health care facilities, the VA and its satellites are open to Veterans, and possible spouses, dependents or survivors for medical care. Worcester VA ensures the security of its facilities in restricted areas during regular hours and after hours at the satellites, and centralizing points of access during certain hours, so that only those with appropriate authority are granted access to its facilities. When seeking care outside of the VA network in an emergency the Department maintains a hotline number for notification at 1-844-724-7842 to enable Veterans the proper care when needed. Key Contacts: Emergency: Worcester VA: 911 Main phone: 508-856-0104 Mental health care: 413-584-4040, ext. 2336 VA website https://www.va.gov/central-western-massachusetts-health-care/ locations/Worcester-VA-clinic/ -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "massfire" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/massfire/CAFXWwKZWZQtEeq6qynLz8xZuvhrL_Qaf5v9e%3DCXHFFLtuuV%2BsQ%40mail.gmail.com.
