IU Health Jay creates police force

Jay County Hospital’s integration with IU Health has brought significant changes.

When the transition was made, IU Health Jay immediately had a new electronic medical records system. There are also a new mammography unit, nurse-call system and beds.

Now, there is also a new police force.

The first officers who are part of the new IU Health Jay Police Department were sworn in during a ceremony Friday afternoon.

Previously, security at the hospital was handled mostly by Jay County Sheriff’s Office reserves. IU Health Jay board president Dave Littler said the decision to form a hospital police department came in part to have a consistent roster of officers at the facility.

“One of the things that we want to do is have the most regular set of faces working here as possible,” agreed Dave Hyatt, president of IU Health critical access hospitals for the East Central region. “It’s very important that the staff and our team members here know each other.”

It was also important to the staff that the officers be local. To that end, the group of six IU Health Jay officers — Nathan Springer (Portland Police Department), Todd Wickey (Portland), Ray Newton (Jay County Sheriff’s Officer, retired), Steve Schlechty (Portland), Ben Schwartz (JCSO) and John Coutinho (Delaware County Emergency Management) — that was sworn in Friday all have experience in local law enforcement, and with the exception of Newton will continue in those roles.

Duties for IU Health Jay police will include responding to any incidents in the hospital, making sure the building is secure in the evening, patrolling the parking lot and handling crowd control in case of large-scale traumatic events.

IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital was the first in the system to have its own police department after the state legislature passed a bill in 2013 to allow hospitals to establish their own forces. IU Health Blackford quickly followed.

“When we came into the system, we felt that it would be a good idea to also have our own police department so that we’re all following the same standards and policies and protocols,” said Hyatt, noting that the new police department has already signed letters of mutual aide with local law enforcement, meaning that they will help the other when needed. “We’ve always had a great relationship with the city police and the sheriff’s office. We’ll continue to do that. A lot of the folks who will be officers here will continue to work there as well.”

All IU Health Jay police officers will be required attend Indiana Law Enforcement Academy. Beyond that, they will receive specialized hospital-based training.

That, Hyatt said, will focus on areas such as customer service, restraint methodology and deescalation tactics.

“How you handle incidents in the hospital is different than how you handle it on the street,” he added.

Springer will serve as captain of the new police department while continuing in his full-time role as Portland Police Chief. His duties will include scheduling, reviewing incident reports, training and generally running the program.

Prior to being named captain of the IU Health Jay squad, Springer had already been moonlighting as an officer for the IU Health Ball Police Department. He has been an officer for about 18 years, serving as assistant to former Portland Police Chief Bob Sours before his retirement in 2014.

“I’m excited to come back and help with Jay County and help it grow here,” said Springer. “I think it’s a big benefit to all of us. It’s just another law enforcement agency in the county. We can help each other grow and learn.”

Under the previous arrangement, sheriff’s office reserves provided security at the hospital for 12 hours, focusing on the evening and overnight. That will continue with the new police department, though Hyatt said he can see to growing into full-time coverage in the future.

Also sworn in Friday were Ryan Miskinis and Matthew Thompson, who will serve with the IU Health Ball Police Department.