Temporary security — Hospital board approves up to $70,000
Weston County Health Services will hire temporary unarmed security guards after the hospital board determined on Aug. 20 that it needed to accelerate its security planning.
After an executive session, the board unanimously approved spending up to $70,000 for three months of security coverage. The guards will provide coverage for 12 hours each weekday and eight hours each weekend day.
Board Chair Ben Roberts told the News Letter Journal that the board has been considering the organization’s security needs for some time.
“The board determined that we needed to move forward with our security planning ahead of what we originally had in mind,” Roberts said. “The board has been weighing security needs for a while, and the timing was right based on discussions with the police chief and sheriff.”
Roberts did not identify a particular incident that prompted the decision. He said the guards will provide temporary protection while WCHS works toward technology-based security measures.
“This step is to provide temporary security while we move forward with some technology-based solutions,” he said.
The cost will be absorbed as an operational expense and could require an increase in the hospital’s budget for the current fiscal year, Roberts said.
The board did not announce the security provider or when the guards would begin working.
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