PITTSBURGH — The Allegheny County district attorney says the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is making security improvements that mirror those he's recommended since one worker was killed and five others were wounded by a mentally ill gunman at Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic in March.
Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. said he's still using a grand jury to investigate whether anyone might be criminally liable for not preventing the March 8 shooting at the Western Psych.
UPMC officials aren't commenting on Zappala's remarks, but provided the media with a list of the most important security improvements -- including plans to have at least one armed officer available on all shifts at its Allegheny County hospitals and UPMC Hamot in Erie.
UPMC is negotiating with the University of Pittsburgh to add 20 armed Pitt police officers to patrol the hospital system’s facilities in Oakland, Zappala Jr. said Tuesday.
Western Pennsylvania’s largest health system would contract with police departments for facilities outside Oakland so it can have at least one armed guard at each campus at all times, Zappala said.
“You’re talking about a very substantial commitment to safety,” said Zappala, who created one of several teams reviewing security at the hospitals and started a grand jury investigation into the shootings.
Adding police officers would be among the first implemented procedures from security recommendations by an internal team led by Robert Cindrich, a former federal judge and senior adviser to UPMC President Jeffrey Romoff.
Other recommendations include enhanced building security, including adding cameras, bulletproof glass and walls reinforced with steel, Zappala said. He said the upgrades could cost about $10 million.
He said the beefed-up measures will include metal detectors and security officers searching all bags, backpacks and purses. UPMC will redesign Western Psych’s DeSoto Street entrance for patients and visitors. The hospital’s main O’Hara Street entrance will become an employee-only entrance. Some of the changes will occur immediately, but UPMC officials could not provide a specific timeline.
“We had some very specific concerns,” Zappala said. “And they’ve been extremely cooperative.”
The plan to tighten security comes seven months after former graduate student John Shick, 30, entered Western Psych armed with two handguns and opened fired, killing Michael Schaab, 25, of Regent Square, and wounding five. Pitt police fatally shot Shick, a schizophrenic who sought help from UPMC facilities and was angry over what he considered improper treatment.
Shick walked into the building with an umbrella in one hand and a hat in his other. He tucked his guns and additional ammunition under his tan trench coat.
He likely would not have made it beyond the front doors if the upcoming security procedures were in place at that time, Zappala said.
“If you walked into the building under this scenario the magnetometer would alert. Then he’s gotta make the decision right then and there, what’s he gonna do? And he’s facing an armed presence, so it’s not as if he’s chasing nurses and doctors and people around that facility,” he said. “Could that lead to a different result? Absolutely.”
Employees at Western Psych would like to see UPMC go farther than the changes outlined by Zappala, said Zach Zobrist, executive vice president of SEIU Healthcare, the union that represents about 200 workers at UPMC including nurses, housekeepers and other staff.
“This is a step in the right direction, but as a union, we don’t think it goes far enough,” Zobrist said.
Employees would like to see an end to the practice of having nurses do security wanding and screening visitors, he said.
“That never should’ve been implemented,” Zobrist said.
He said often a staffer is alone on a unit, which is a cause for concern.
“We’re seeking to avoid situations like that that could be dangerous,” Zobrist said. UPMC should follow the changes outlined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which include adding extra security to the reception area of Western Psych, he said.
“The walls got painted pretty quickly after the shooting, but there hasn’t been bulletproof glass installed in the reception desk,” Zobrist said. Employees would like to the changes recommended by UPMC’s internal team implemented quickly, he said.
“I know folks are anxious to see these changes,” Zobrist said.
Channel 11’s news exchange partners at TribLIVE contributed to this report.