The K-9, known as “Officer Ben,” has already responded to over 300 calls, found illegal drugs 76 times and de-escalated around 80 potentially abusive situations in the hospital over the past three months. While an officer might take 20 minutes to search a room for contraband, Ben can do it in about 5 seconds, said Brian Phillips, the dog’s handler. Ben also comforts young patients at the Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma.
MultiCare Health System plans to employ another dog later this year. Ben has cost the hospital about $20,000, much of it funded by a MultiCare foundation and other sources.
About 50 percent of emergency physicians said they had dealt with assault on the job in a 2018 poll. Fourteen percent of hospitals nationwide have security dogs to help the situation.
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