What Facilities Teams Should Be Thinking About When It Comes to Safety

For healthcare construction teams, security has typically lived in someone else’s lane. That’s starting to change.

It’s coming up earlier, in design decisions, infrastructure planning, and how a building is laid out before a single wall goes up.

Brian Uridge, Senior Director of Public Safety and Security at Michigan Medicine, oversees safety and security across a system with more than 40,000 employees and four million patient visits a year. His approach centers on trust, training, and technology.

I spoke with him ahead of HealthSpaces about what’s changing and where teams are still missing it.

What’s changed in the last few years that makes healthcare security more of a facilities and design conversation?

Brian Uridge: Well, we've obviously seen that there's a significant increase in violence in health care. We know that 72% of all violence in any workplace occurs in a health care setting.

Simply focusing on de-escalation doesn’t solve the problem. There are physical changes we need to make to the healthcare environment to keep patients, staff, and visitors safe — and just as importantly, to make sure they feel safe.

If we can adjust how the physical environment is built and designed, that becomes part of creating an overall safe healthcare environment.

Where are you seeing security show up earlier in a project than most teams expect?

Brian Uridge: Here at Michigan Medicine and the University of Michigan, we have a very robust security program and an excellent relationship with all of the stakeholders. We’re brought in at the very beginning of the design phase. We’re part of a multidisciplinary team looking at what might be missing.

That includes things like crime prevention through environmental design. Something as simple as making sure parking ramps are painted bright white and have better lighting — we know statistically that can reduce the likelihood of violent incidents.

There’s a lot of research behind it. It’s surprising how much something that simple can make a difference.

Where do you still see hospitals missing it when it comes to planning for safety?

Brian Uridge: The biggest gap is understanding the balance.

We need to maintain a safe environment where patients and staff are protected, but also one that feels welcoming. Hospitals shouldn’t feel like a prison — they should feel like a healing environment.

The number one patient need is assurance. So when somebody comes in, we have to balance safety and security with the patient experience.

What feels real right now with AI in security, and what still feels a bit early?

Brian Uridge: What’s working well right now is cameras with analytics in hospital settings.

If someone approaches a building with an exposed weapon, those systems can identify it in advance. That technology exists today and is being used.

What’s emerging is the ability to detect concealed weapons — for example, identifying something hidden under clothing without traditional screening. That’s advancing quickly.

But then the question becomes: how do we respond in a way that keeps people safe without disrupting the patient experience?

For teams working on major projects right now, what’s one thing they should be thinking about?

Brian Uridge: The pace of change is probably the biggest thing.

Some of these technologies are advancing very quickly. If you’re identifying potential threats — for example, multiple people entering a space with possible weapons — how do you respond? How do you staff for that? How do you handle it in a way that’s respectful and appropriate?

It’s not just about detection. It’s about what happens next.

Preventing violence isn’t just about technology. It’s how infrastructure, training, and culture all come together in the environment.

Hear more from Brian on how security is showing up in healthcare design and infrastructure, and where things are heading, at HealthSpaces, June 7–9 in Braselton, GA.

Request your invite here.