FMOL Health expands its workforce this summer with a new K-9 security team. Two Czechoslovakian shepherds joined the healthcare provider in June and headed immediately to three weeks of training camp with their handlers. The K-9 team officially started work June 29 at FMOL Health | Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center and FMOL Health | Our Lady of the Lake Children’s Hospital. Funding from the FMOL Health | Our Lady of the Lake Foundation supports the initiative.
“We’re always striving to make our campus and facilities as safe, secure and welcoming as possible for our team members, patients and community. Our K-9 team is the latest part of that effort,” said Eric Sean Clay, FMOL Health vice president and chief security officer. “Czechoslovakian shepherds are known for their powerful drive and performance, as well as their friendliness. Our new security K-9s are highly social and have received extensive specialized training to operate within a healthcare environment.”
The health system’s furriest new team members – named Pax and Lux for the peace and light they bring to the FMOL Health community - respond to quick commands and love to play ball. The security K-9s are trained to seek and detect firearms, solvents, bullets and explosives, as well as deter threats and de-escalate violent or challenging situations. The K-9s are also trained to work large community events, providing a sense of security and warmth.
It’s common for a K-9 team to walk hospital halls and provide comfort to staff and patients following a challenging day, Clay said. FMOL Health team members and patients may interact with the K-9s on duty, provided they alert the handler first.
The K-9s will work six to seven hours a day, five days a week, live at home with their handlers, K-9 officers Josh Hilliard and Richard Borneman, and receive care from the LSU Veterinary Center, as an extension of the LSU Championship Health Partnership. Funding from the Our Lady of the Lake Foundation helped to build special kennels and purchase two Ford Explorers customized for K-9 transport with temperature control, refrigerators and other special features.
To help familiarize team members, patients, and visitors, a limited run of trading cards will be made available, especially at our Children’s Hospital, where the patients may take special interest.
“The K-9 team is the latest element of a systemwide safety and security plan that covers 10 acute care hospitals and associated clinics across our four markets,” Clay said. “We are constantly striving for excellence in all we do.”