To improve security and safety programs across UW Medicine, Alieu Ann will assume the new system role of Chief Security Officer on July 1, 2022. He’ll spend 80% of his time focused on system duties and the remaining 20% on Harborview Medical Center–specific responsibilities.
The role will oversee the work of the Harborview, UW Medical Center, UW Medicine Primary Care and UW School of Medicine South Lake Union security programs and personnel.
Get to know him:
How did you get into public safety?
In my family growing up, service to a cause greater than self was emphasized and encouraged. I am deeply passionate and committed to public safety and have dedicated my career to working to keep people safe.
What is the current state of public safety and security at Harborview?
As you may be aware, safety and security in healthcare today is challenging and dynamic. However, I can proudly report that with the help of an incredible and dedicated security team at Harborview and the support of our leadership and care teams, our public safety and security program at Harborview has been and will continue to successfully support our UW Medicine public safety and security mission of “providing a safe and secure healing environment, engaging people with dignity and respect” with our staff, faculty, students, patients, volunteers, and visitors.
What knowledge from your previous role will you bring into this new role as Chief Security Officer?
Top on that list for me is collaboration — in order to achieve our public safety and security mission, we must collaborate across functional boundaries.
What short-term goals and initiatives do you have for this role?
As you can imagine, numerous ongoing priorities and initiatives will receive my immediate attention. One of which is to support our recruitment and retention initiatives. It’s important for the success of our mission to make sure the teams have the needed resources to support our various security mitigation strategies.
I am truly eager to meet our public safety and security teams across UW Medicine campuses, introduce myself, thank them for their commitment to our mission and listen to their feedback. I am equally looking forward to meeting our clinical and non clinical partners across our system to hear their feedback as well.
Additionally, one of the many challenges we face in healthcare today is workplace violence. This is a key area of focus for me and our team, and lots of excellent work has already been done in workplace violence prevention training and education, our public safety and security officer programs, physical security infrastructure and more. I am committed to exploring best practices around the prevention and disruption of violence.
To list a few short-term priorities, I aim to assess the current state of our public safety and security programs across our system with a particular focus on best practices, resource needs, opportunities, risks, training, interventions and more. I also hope to evaluate opportunities for our workplace violence prevention programs and to develop and implement a UW Medicine public safety and security program for our UW Medicine Primary Care and Population Health Clinics and the School of Medicine Southlake Union Campus. Finally, I look to establish and maintain key partnerships with care teams across the system.
What long-term goals do you have for this role?
A few long-term priorities include, but are not limited to, developing, and implementing new or revised programs and services which meet the needs of the changing healthcare environment while supporting the organizational and business unit’s philosophy, goals, and objectives, as well as developing a UW Medicine Security Strategic Masterplan.
What are your top personal security and safety tips?
- Take the time to familiarize yourself with the numerous services your public safety and security teams offer in your facility. Save their contact information in your cell phone.
- Always be aware of your surroundings, and what is going on in your workplace
- Always wear your UW Medicine facility issued photo identification badge. If it is stolen or missing, report it immediately.
- Know your facility/department emergency plans, including emergency codes, evacuation procedures, and active shooter response plans.
- Do not leave valuables or money unsecure in your office or workstation.
- Immediately report any threats to your supervisor and public safety and security or local law enforcement if appropriate.
What would you like the UW Medicine community to know about your dedication to security and safety?
UW Medicine is an excellent place to work, and I am glad to have the opportunity to do what I love to do: keep people safe. I want our UW Medicine community to know that with their continuous support and collaboration, we will be successful in achieving our public safety and security mission to create a safe and secure environment to allow all of us to do what we do best in serving our patients and community.
On behalf of our public safety and security team, I thank each one of you for giving us an opportunity to earn your trust.
What do you do to unwind after a long week?
I engage in outdoor activities exploring our beautiful Pacific Northwest.
