Medical Cannabis Growers Security Division Archives

Development & Retention

February 7, 2019 By // by Great Northern Sentry Co.

Employee Retention

Great Northern Sentry fully understands the need to retain valued employees. We consider each employee vital to our success. To do this, we have developed retention programs to motivate employees to top performance levels.

Great Northern Sentry also offers additional benefits and incentives for the officers assigned to protect your facilities. These benefits and incentives include:

Annual Employee Evaluations
Online Testing Service
Health Insurance
Vacations
Employee Incentive/Recognition Programs
Participative Management – Quality Improvement Process Participation

24 Hour Supervision and Management

Great Northern Sentry implements a multi-level, 24-hour supervisory and management infrastructure to service and support our clients and their property. One key to this program is our in house 24 hour dispatch center. Our company phones are answered by live Teachout Security Solutions/Great Northern Sentry employees 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Immediate communication with our office will never be an issue.

Our assigned Account Managers are responsible for the daily oversight of their site and staff. The Account Manager is also responsible for “off hour” checks on their staff, to ensure the proper quality and performance standards demanded by Great Northern Sentry Security.

The Account Manager is supported by the Branch Manager and Director of Medical Cannabis Services. This allows the Site Manager and the client an extra level of qualified support for any needs, concerns or emergencies.

Quality Management Program

February 3, 2019 By // by Great Northern Sentry Co.

Continuous Improvement Approach

The Great Northern Sentry Medical Cannabis Model uses routine reporting, a training and action calendar, standard and customized metrics, and a continuous quality improvement loop to ensure the consistent application of best practices and compliance with both the policies of the client facility and the corporation.

Deficiencies or other opportunities for improvement are managed through a formal Plan of Action model.

Ongoing policy and procedure maintenance is managed through an Interdisciplinary Quality Action Team model called Policy and Procedures Monitoring Group (PPMG).

Daily Site Activity Reports are completed by the Medical Cannabis Services Manager assigned to the site. These reports are electronically transmitted to the Director of Medical Cannabis Services. The Director of Medical Cannabis Services follows up on any issues the same day the report is received.

Details of serious incidents are communicated to the Director of Medical Cannabis Services as soon as possible and immediate client contact is initiated by the Director of Medical Cannabis Services.

Metrics are established prior to start up. Standard quantitative metrics are: response times, escorts, interventions, restraints, unlocks, and criminal incidents by category.

Standard qualitative metrics are: customer service survey results and service failures.

Our goal is to be a true partner with our client which requires the ability to make adjustments and be proactive in service delivery and support. This leads to other metrics being established at the client’s request and are often created to specific situations temporarily as well as permanently.

Training Program For Medical Cannabis

January 17, 2019 By // by Great Northern Sentry Co.

MAP

What is MAP?

MAP – Managing Agitated Persons is a proprietary program developed by the Teachout Security Healthcare Division. It has been implemented for use with Great Northern Sentry Medical Cannabis Division. MAP has been implemented successfully with both security officers and clinicians in the healthcare environment.

What makes MAP different?

The first component of MAP is “Pre-Escalation”. This component is a big differentiator for MAP from other options available. Pre-Escalation addresses positive customer service skills in order to prevent escalation happening in the first place. The key focus of this component is “initiating positive contact”. The premise of training is that it’s the officer’s responsibility to be situationally aware of the people in their surroundings and to “actively seek opportunities to serve” the client’s population. This is also inclusive of “non-patient” patrons of the facility. These skills translate to all populations in a Medical Cannabis environment – behavioral, health, trauma, grief, etc. and can be taught and adopted to client staff.

De-Escalation?

The de-escalation component of MAP is the core of the program. Trainers emphasize the areas that the officers and staff will encounter in their setting assignments and focus on both philosophical and practical applications of the training. When escalation happens quickly and unexpectedly, the MAP program brings into play techniques that allow keeping control of the situation. Control techniques taught are extremely effective and widely accepted as safe.

Results?

Our MAP proprietary officer training program has reduced incidents by more than 30% in our client facilities who use it. The “pre-escalation” component is unique and drives HCAHPS scores up while positively impacting the experience of the patient and family.

Pre-assignment Training

New Hire Orientation
CPR/AED & First Aid
Absolute Customer Focus
Elite Image
Total Client Satisfaction
Life Safety Primer
General Fire Response
Hazardous Materials
HIPAA
Bloodborne Pathogens
Surveyor Encounters
Non-Violent Crisis Intervention (CPI)
Managing Agitated Persons (MAP)
Defensive Tactics for Medical Cannabis Officers
Safety Surveillance

Post-Assignment Training (As Appropriate)
Weather Emergencies
Active Shooter
Hazardous-Materials
Evacuations
Intrusion Alarms
Incident Reporting and Response
Motor Vehicle Accidents
Larcenies
Workplace Violence
Unsafe Conditions
Unsafe Actions
Fire Alarms
Maintenance Alarms
Patrol Standards
Access Control
Video Monitoring
Employee Intervention
Visitor Intervention
Suspicious Letters/Packages
VIPs
Service Functions
Workplace Injuries
Disorderly Persons
Lost and Found Property
Media Relations
Trespassers
Escorts
Unlocks
Motorist Assists
Parking Enforcement
Communications
Evidentiary Photography
Uniform Standards
Specific Post Orders
Geographic Area of Responsibility
Routine Duties
Greet and Sort
Surveyor Encounters
Lock Down

In-service Training (Routine)

First Aid/CPR/AED Recertification
CPI/MAP Recertification
Hazardous Materials (semi-annual re-validation)
HIPPA (semi-annual re-validation)
Bloodborne Pathogens (semi-annual re-validation)
Evacuations (semi-annual re-validation)

Management Approach

January 17, 2019 By // by Great Northern Sentry Co.

Medical Cannabis Security Service Model

The Great Northern Sentry Medical Cannabis Division is a subsidiary of Teachout Security Solutions. Our decision to create and develop this division was based on the success we have experienced with our Healthcare Division. The Division Model is a comprehensive program which ensures premier safety and security for Medical Cannabis operations. The program is grounded in over 30 years of credentialed experience in the security industry with a solid history of success in applying that security experience to protect Healthcare facilities. It is detailed enough to ensure every contingency is considered, while having a structure flexible enough to fit the mission and culture of any organization.

1. Personnel

Properly managing the best personnel with a clear structure is the key to our success. We recruit, hire and retain the best officers with a level of consistency unique to the industry. Great Northern Sentry has partnerships with community colleges and universities throughout the region and we recruit the best and the brightest to join our team of security professionals. Additionally, we strive to be the employer of choice for security professionals. From entry level officers to industry leading managers and executives, our standing in the security community affords us the opportunity to pick and choose the very best candidates available. Our retention rate is well above any competitor and is driven primarily by our employee satisfaction ratings.

2. Training

It is our belief that training actually begins at the interview stage. We hire for job fit and then train our staff to levels which exceed industry standards. One key to our training success is our proprietary program which encompasses a two day new hire training, pre-assignment training, post assignment training, and in-service training. We do not train to simply meet standards, instead we train to ensure we provide a safe, secure, and customer focused specialized security team. We document our training and provide clients copies of detailed and understandable training logs. Training is typically documented with practical and/or written testing for validation.

3. Policies and Procedures

The facility’s policies and procedures are critical to the success of the security program. During the transition we will review the security procedure manual for completeness. A comprehensive report will be provided to the client detailing the current state of the existing policy manual. That report will include meaningful recommendations which Great Northern Sentry can help the client implement. Every step of the way we are partners with the facility ensuring the procedural foundation of the program is solid.

4. Technology/Physical Security

A basic assessment of the facility’s physical security and use of technology will be completed pre-transition. The client will receive a comprehensive evaluation which will include straight forward recommendations for improvement. If desired, we have the resources to commission a very detailed security/safety/facilities assessment.

5. The Community:

Acceptance from the client’s employees and the surrounding community is critical to the success of any security program. Great Northern Sentry maintains a constant focus on communicating, educating, and demonstrating high levels of professionalism. By properly integrating security into the culture of the community, the security network creates a “footprint” many times larger than that which can be provided by the Security Department. We will be active in the facility and the community. The goal is security awareness in the community and community awareness in the security department. This includes establishing a working relationship with local law enforcement agencies.

Evidence of Our Model Concept and Management Success

• Teachout Security Solutions Healthcare Division provides security services to more Michigan healthcare facilities than any other security provider.

• No other security provider in Michigan has the level of Healthcare Security Professionals serving each day in the field.

• 100% of the hospitals and healthcare facilities who have retained our services since the Healthcare Division inception 15 years ago are still our partners today.