Security steps — Hospital expands staff safety efforts

Weston County Health Services has begun formally tracking verbal and physical threats and expanded staff safety training.

At the Feb. 20 meeting of the Weston County Hospital District board, leaders said tracking of threats began in January, and two incidents have been reported so far in 2026. Officials did not describe the incidents.

Polly Liggett, the employee health and safety nurse, said Tamie Dowding, who oversees emergency preparedness, provided staff training on Reflex Protect, a nonlethal personal safety device intended to help staff respond to aggressive situations until assistance arrives. Devices have been placed in several departments.

Liggett said the emergency department has also adjusted workflow so nurses can position themselves between a patient and the door during examinations, reducing the risk of being blocked inside a room.

Hospital officials said safety monitoring and training efforts will continue, and results of a security analysis of the facility that was conducted earlier this month will be shared with trustees once available.

Gilbert Nelson, Weston County’s emergency management coordinator, told the News Letter Journal that Brad Eggers, a protective security adviser at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, conducted the assessment at the hospital and will also assess the Newcastle clinic.

Hospital leadership plans to review the findings at its March safety meeting, CEO Cathy Harshbarger told the NLJ.

“Then the Upton Clinic hopefully when he goes to do the Upton Schools,” Nelson told
the NLJ. “I am trying to get as many places
done that want — or that are willing — to have one done.”

The Weston County annex building has already undergone the assessment, according to Nelson.

Nelson told the NLJ that businesses can contact him if they would like to have a security audit completed. The assessments are free.