A new era: HSC to deploy institutional safety officers next week
CTV
New safety officers will be on patrol at Health Sciences Centre (HSC), and they're going to have the power to arrest and detain people who present a threat to staff, patients and visitors.
New safety officers will be on patrol at Health Sciences Centre (HSC), and they're going to have the power to arrest and detain people who present a threat to staff, patients and visitors.
Shayna Fontaine has worked at HSC for nine years, and during that time some scary incidents have happened.
"It tends to happen before I get to the situation. But you hear about it after, or you're in the parkade and you walk by somebody, and there's something that's going on," said Fontaine.
Officials at HSC say the list of issues over the years has been lengthy - from vandalism to assault.
"Our patients get assaulted, our staff sometimes gets assaulted,” said Dr. Shawn Young, COO at HSC. “We need ways to be better able to support them."
That support is on the way.
Starting Monday, institutional safety officers or ISOs, will be on the job patrolling HSC.