Podcast | Patient Care Teams Aren't Just Clinical

Vistelar COO Casey Goldschmidt was a featured guest speaker on the Security Nurse Podcast!

Casey Goldschmidt, Chief Operating Officer at Vistelar, was honored to be a featured guest with Sarah-Marie and her "Security Nurse Podcast" a resource for all things safety and security.

TRANSCRIPT OF PODCAST:

Well, Casey, thank you so much for joining me today on the Security Nurse Podcast. Thanks, Sarah-Marie.
0:28
Great to be here. Yes.
0:30
We're here at um the International Association of Healthcare Security and Safety annual conference here in New Orleans. Here we are.
0:37
Is this your first time to New Orleans? No. So, I grew up in Alabama, so I'm in and out of New Orleans quite a bit. Okay.
0:44
So, yeah, I'm I'm familiar with the the Creole culture. Okay.
0:48
So, you know, the non-touristy places to go where to get the good food, right? The real good food.
0:53
Okay. Absolutely. Fantastic.
0:55
And so, you are here with Vistelar. Tell me a little bit about you and and working with Vistelar. So, uh yeah, I'm with Vistelar.
1:04
I've taken a role as chief operating officer for Vistelar.
1:09
Come from a an extensive corporate healthcare background in the not for-profit space.
1:13
Uh so just coming in and and really helping further align Vistelar with the priorities of you know our health systems and our healthcare um you know our healthc care initiatives around workplace violence and just that cross collaboration with security safety and just really understanding how we fit and how we scale and tailor programs to to healthcare to healthcare.
1:40
Okay. So so what's your background then in in healthcare security?
1:43
What were you doing? Yep. So, I so I started off in healthcare security.
1:46
I started, you know, kind of took the first kind of job that that I could find as an armed security officer in one of Birmingham's busiest hospitals, Birmingham, Alabama. Okay. And really kind of fell in love with the framework of of healthcare and just the the cross collaboration and and just that team environment.
2:04
And so, I just kind of made a career out of it.
2:06
Kind of went into management for St. business health system with Ascension and eventually was leading the market over security and emergency management for for Ascension in Alabama.
2:16
And then from there, I went into enterprise strategy for Ascension out of St. Louis for the headquarters Bensin and and then uh from there I was I was really focused on workplace violence there and threat management just standardizing those processes across you know our 12 markets acute acute care markets and and all of the ambulatory care care settings that went along with that.
2:39
So yes.
2:41
Okay. So covering ambulatory too. That's fantastic.
2:43
A lot of times ambulatory say they feel forgotten about. I know. I know. And and you know that that was the case at Ascension too, but starting to just bring them in and you know baby steps right was part of my my priority.
2:57
Um, and then I landed with Vistelar here and and and I'm happy to be here and and I feel like Vistelar is, you know, a good way to, you know, impact the industry, the broader industry, not just, you know, in healthcare.
3:09
Workplace violence is close to my heart.
3:11
I've been through a lot from the ground all the way up to, you know, kind of strategy related initiatives to uh that that affect our bedside. Fantastic.
3:21
So, what what is Vistelar? What are you helping organizations do? Yeah.
3:26
So, Vistelar is just a great partnership license-based um you know, training partner, content partner.
3:36
Um so, Vistelar does a great job.
3:38
What what brought me to Vistelar was they they've done a great job with you know connecting non-escalation with deescalation and into security tactics. And so, I thought that was really unique.
3:50
When Ascension in my role at Ascension, you know, working with Vistelar, I saw that link from clinical to security.
3:58
And right now, clinical and security collaboration is so important because, you know, growing up in security in my career, I say growing up, but security has become more and more part of the clinical mission and and Vistelar's done a great job with connecting that continuum based unified conflict management system.
4:16
And so, you know, Once once nursing, you know, has has exhausted, you know, their their tactics, Vistelar provides that securitybased tactic that's clinically based, but still meant for security that really helps take that pressure off nursing and safeguards that environment of care for everybody else around there getting care.
4:39
So, Vistelar does a great job with that unified continuum-based program that's tailored for each organization.
4:46
And so there's just a lot of tailoring opportunities that you don't see in other in other programs. Yes.
4:53
That's fantastic. And so you in addition to being here and representing Vistelar and you I'm sure you guys got your booth set.
5:01
Are you setting up a booth this year? We don't have a booth this year.
5:03
We're doing more conversations and you know next year we'll definitely have a booth.
5:08
I'm a board member on our Alabama chapter.
5:11
So, I'm going to be a a huge advocate for for be here next year. You know, still getting my feet wet with this alarm.
5:20
I just wanted to have those conversations, those just honestly get a beat on what healthcare, you know, organizations need, right?
5:31
And that's that's really my main focus is like, okay, how can we further align with our healthcare partners, right?
5:38
So just not that you know how it was how Vistelar was working with Ascension but now you're on a broader like the bigger bigger picture broader scale in helping Vistelar align with multiple organizations. Absolutely. Healthcare is evolving you know and we have to be fluid as partners to healthcare.
5:53
Well and it's very like regionally and culturally driven as well.
5:58
So I've worked in Cincinnati, St. Louis, Colorado Springs and now I'm in Michigan.
6:03
And so just between all those different areas and then even between you know working cardiology inpatient cardiology outpatient pediatric home care and now in the emergency department those all have their different cultures and needs as well.
6:18
And so being able to have you know a general structure but something that can be fluid because healthcare is very fluid.
6:26
It's very evolving.
6:28
It's constantly you know changing from moment to moment.
6:31
And so to be able to have something that can that can work with that is really really important.
6:37
So absolutely. Yeah. So one of the ways that we're kind of plugging you in and getting you involved in the in the conference as well is we have our women in security healthcare wish eventar has been very kind to sponsor and to support.
6:52
Um you guys are providing you're going to be providing training tokens for everyone that um attends so they can log in and take one of the online courses and see what Vistelar is all about.
7:03
And then in addition we have a door prize giveaway as well um that you guys are supporting us with.
7:09
And so it is absolutely fantastic to have your support.
7:14
Can you tell me because I know like I know because I've talked to you guys, but why is it important to you guys to help support the WISH initiative? Yeah.
7:24
So, I mean, anyone who is focused on this, you know, kind of an epidemic, right, in healthcare, workplace violence, there's $18 billion dollars worth of, you know, healthc care resources that could be used in other ways going towards, you know, workplace violence events.
7:42
uh you know so any organization that takes it upon themselves to start to try to get that conversate that conversation and collaborate on you know ways to think outside of the box on the issue uh is just super super valuable right now and I think that wish paid attention to wish since it formation you know I think it's a couple years now right and just the involvement that you have now in the market for being such a you So, you know, and and then, you know, a new incoming organization is just huge.
8:15
And I see that that momentum picking up and Yes.
8:20
Yes. and and you know, we'd like to do anything that we can to support, you know, that initiative because, you know, we're on the same page, right?
8:25
We're on the same team, which is combating violence in healthcare. Yes.
8:30
Yeah. Yeah. Wish is really focused.
8:32
I mean, we're focused on that mentorship, the collaboration, the recognition, you know, recognizing women in security and healthcare security and and and the ways that they contribute and helping spotlight that.
8:42
But then also that allyship, right, with with our male counterparts, with organizations, with businesses, and being able to really at the end of the day, everybody has the same goal, and that's just to make everybody safe and get everybody home at the end of the day safe.
8:58
And so the wish, it's a special interest group right now.
9:02
We definitely are growing. So it's exciting to see how we're growing, but as a special interest group and being able to have these opportunities and these networking opportunities and spotlight and showcase a lot of what women in security and healthcare security are doing, but then again, like I said, also that allyship.
9:18
So, we have a lot of our male counterparts that are going to be attending this year, attending the event and and supporting and being able to really show that collaboration and and camaraderie essentially.
9:31
So, I I think I think the WISH perspective on our, you know, not just workplace violence, you know, initiatives, but just security as a as a whole is just incredibly valuable to the industry.
9:41
Um, and I, you know, I think that it's just when we're, when we're talking about workplace violence, it's not something that just, it doesn't just affect the people within that organization, within the walls of that hospital, you know, it affects families, right?
9:57
It affects the families and friends of of our associates who are are victims of of workplace violence. You know, some of the some of the most memorable calls I've had as a director of public safety were family members calling, you know, angry and confused and and just, you know, wanting to find answers that I really didn't have as a director of public safety or a director of security, right, about why their family members feel unsafe at work or why they've went through why they've gone through an event that was traumatizing, right?
10:34
And so and I think WISH brings uh an incredibly important viewpoint and perspective on that and and and just not only do we as health systems affect our patients population and our associates, we affect I mean we're we're huge conglomerates in a lot of ways and in the communities that we serve as well on you know on the residual side. Right.
11:02
Right. Well, and I think a lot of like security, especially in healthcare, and really understanding that yes, our physical security, our cyber security, kind of all of that, but there is an emotional, behavioral, social component to it.
11:19
and understanding culture and just understanding that a lot of patients and families it's not that you know you're it's it's just understanding who's got a different skill set but it also at the end of the day sometimes it's the patient who chooses and sometimes the patient wants to deal with a woman and not deal with a man.
11:35
And so it's being able to understand that and provide being able to say yeah we can provide that service.
11:42
you want a female officer to come in and talk to you, we can provide that because we recognize that and we're providing that.
11:47
And so being able to say that there's value and you know I think for a long time it was kind of difficult because we were trying to you know everybody's equal across the board and in a way yes there's equality but then there's also understanding that just because I have this skill set or a patient prefers a female officer over a male officer doesn't mean that there's not equality still doesn't exist right it's just it's that everybody has their skill set that they bring to the table and I think WISH really helps foster that mindset that it's not like us versus them or you versus me or anything like that.
12:26
It's really all of us collaborating and working together. Absolutely. As as a more cohesive unit, breaking down those silos and being more cohesive in the care that we're able and and you're right, security is becoming more of the care team.
12:39
They're getting a lot more trauma-informed training and understanding how patients react to security.
12:45
And and you've probably dealt with this too, like as soon as an armed officer shows up who's hospitalbased. It's not the police, which they have different jurisd like read that dynamic and understand. Um, I was recently at our in-person event um, training for uh, in our Great Lakes chapter and there they have started using security officers to help direct ambulatory patients when they come in to check in.
13:20
So now they've started to learn a little bit of like a registration side of things and they're wearing khakis and polos and so they're not like full security, you know, uniform but but different, right?
13:31
you know, they're not clinical, but they're different, but they're also providing a service, like helping patients check in. And so that's a So, so security is even kind of starting to become more of like a customer service as well, not just providing that physical security. Yeah.
13:48
No, security, you know, they they wear all kinds of hats.
13:50
You can go from, you know, helping someone find their car or escorting somebody to their car or whatever to to, you know, the next call you're going to, you know, a violent patient.
14:01
And so it's it's just so important to arm, you know, your security teams, you know, or prepare your security teams for every level of that, you know, that spectrum of contact with the general public.
14:14
And I think I think Episcrar does a great job of doing that.
14:17
You know, it's it's it starts with non-escalation, obviously, the the universal greeting into into the, you know, the next phases of that.
14:25
And it's really just about treating people with respect and dignity.
14:29
uh the ultimate goal is avoiding any conflict at all.
14:31
And if you can start out that that interaction without any sort of well break down those walls of like, hey, I'm a security officer and you should be weary of me, right? To hey, I'm I'm Casey and I and I work for Ascension or I work for whatever who whatever health system, you know, I'm here to help.
14:53
I'm part of the care team.
14:54
Yes. and and that's that's the way the industry is moving and and I'm proud of the industry for moving that way. Yeah, it's really fantastic to see it because even like you know if you want to talk more from just an actual like security side of things having security out front helping with that registration process they now also laid eyes on every single person.
15:12
Yeah. they've been able like they were telling us, you know, they they're able to, oh, you look like you have a weapon in your pocket.
15:16
Do you mind taking that back to your car? Absolutely.
15:19
You know, so that that patient doesn't progress any further, you know, in the clinical process and make it all the way back to the doctor's appointment with a firearm in their in their um in their pocket or, you know, holster or whatever.
15:33
And so just having security out there even though it seems customer service it's kind of like an incognito like gray man like I'm doing this but I'm there's also a lot of other data and information that I'm gathering when I'm helping in this in this fashion.
15:49
Absolutely. And I think people uh and in every market are growing more and more used to seeing security kind of on a perimeter, right?
15:57
And in modern day in the modern day world and so I think it's so important to just prepare your security teams and your clinical teams for just the right way to do that.
16:06
That way it's not like, hey, I'm security and you should be, you know, wary of me. It's more it's more I'm here for your safety and to support your your needs whether you you need directions or or whatever it may be, right?
16:22
We're we're we're more of a uh you know a just an ambassador, you know, for that organization. Well, Casey, thank you so much for coming and talking with me today.
16:32
Thank you for, you know, representing Vistelar and and helping support our our WISH event that we have going on during the conference.
16:41
We are very very appreciative of it all. Absolutely.
16:44
I'm just I'm just happy to be a partner and and Vistelar, you know, we support anybody that that that aligns with our cause and and so we just really appreciate, you know, y'all's support as well.
16:54
Um and and uh thank you for having me on here and uh hopefully we can talk soon and go from there. Yeah.
17:01
All right. Well, thank you so much.
17:02
Enjoy the rest of the conference. Yeah.
17:04
Thank you. You too. You're welcome.