TIDEWATER CHAPTER

MINUTES OF THE JANUARY 18, 2012 MEETING

FORT EUSTIS CLUB, NEWPORT NEWS, VA

Eight (8) members and three (3) guests in attendance.

   The meeting was called to order by Chapter Chairman Norm Carl at 11:47 a.m.. who, after introducing himself, asked the other attendees to do likewise. After introductions, Chairman Carl pointed out our newly elected Chapter officers and then invited everyone to proceed to the buffet for lunch. 

    After everyone had gotten their lunch, Chairman Carl re-introduced the day’s speaker, long time Chapter member Linda Glasson, C.H.P.A. who is the security manager at Sentara’s Obici Hospital in Suffolk Virginia. For the next 45 minutes Ms. Glasson, who is a frequent speaker at seminars and training classes throughout the country and has authored numerous articles on various aspects of hospital security, spoke on the subject of  “Fraud and Theft Trends” in today’s hospitals. Without going into the well publicized types of Medicaid fraud, Ms. Glasson focused her discussion more on the specific types of fraud and theft that take place in the hospitals themselves. She explained how between 2001 and 2010 generally accepted estimates of loss due to theft in U.S. hospitals rose from between $4,000 and $4,500 per bed per year to between $7,000 and $8,000 per bed per year. These figures, she explained do not include losses by fraud. Ms. Glasson went on to outline the major sources of theft, and measures that she and other hospital security manages across the country have implemented such as inventory tracking, photo I.D.s, and even palm vain scanning to provide better accountability and thereby reduce theft. Fraud, she explained, includes such crimes as obtaining services, supplies, and/or money under false pretenses as well as narcotic diversion. Upon completing her presentation, which was often punctuated with real life examples and stories, Ms. Glasson answered questions from her fellow chapter members.  

     After Ms. Glasson completed answering questions, Chairman Carl moved on to the business portion of the meeting. He announced plans for an upcoming Executive Committee meeting where we would attempt to outline the Chapter’s activities for 2012, discuss such issues as student memberships, meeting notifications, and how we can better serve our members on both sides of Hampton Roads. He also mentioned increasing our interaction with the Richmond Chapter, and announced the upcoming regional meeting to be held in McLean VA on February 3, 2012. Chairman Carl then called for other announcements and guest Dr. Nathan Busch of Christopher Newport University took the opportunity to remind everyone of his university’s “Symposium on Homeland Security” to be held July 19-20, 2012. Newly elected Treasurer Duncan MacLeod, CPP   proposed changing the Chapter name from “Tidewater” to “Hampton Roads”. After a brief discussion, it was agreed that this was a very good idea, and Chairman Carl agreed to investigate with ASIS headquarters that possibility. Chapter Secretary Dr. Wendell Parker, CPP advised everyone that Minutes from the meeting would be available on the Chapter web site. Outgoing Treasurer Shawn Deans gave his monthly report which was unchanged from last month due to freezing of the assets pending a audit to facilitate the turnover of that office. Chairman Carl presented Ms. Glasson with an ASIS Certificate of Appreciation and ink pen.

      Having no further business, the meeting adjourned at 1:13 p.m..