Patients, families, team members invited to connect with the officers who serve the JPS community
JPS recently hosted its first National Night Out, an initiative led by the Tarrant County Hospital District Police Department (JPS Police Department). The event brought team members, patients, families, and community partners together for an evening of entertainment and connection with local law enforcement.
National Night Out gives communities an opportunity to build relationships with the officers who serve them. At JPS, that community includes everyone who walks through our doors.
“Our campus is our community,” said Danny Webb, Executive Director of Public Safety and Parking Services and Police Chief. “We serve both our internal and external community.”
Established in 1994, the Tarrant County Hospital District Police Department has 58 sworn police officers, 28 security officers, nine police dispatchers, and four admin dedicated to protecting patients, team members, and visitors across the JPS network, including the main campus, medical homes, clinics, and other facilities. The department's jurisdiction encompasses all JPS properties, as well as the surrounding roadways, and its officers possess the same law enforcement authority as other police agencies in Texas.
JPS Police also works with local law enforcement, helping outside agencies understand JPS policies when they are on campus. While healthcare law enforcement is becoming more common, working in a healthcare setting brings unique responsibilities, Webb said.
“We blend law enforcement and healthcare,” he said. “We work to ensure our team members have a safe environment to provide care to patients, while navigating the healthcare aspect by ensuring patients receive the care they need.”
Having its own police department also allows JPS officers to respond quickly, with an average emergency response time of less than 65 seconds. Just as important, officers build relationships with team members and become familiar with the patients and communities JPS serves.
“Knowing our patient population and some of their needs and challenges is a benefit for our JPS community as a whole,” Webb said.
For Webb, events like National Night Out give officers and the JPS community a chance to connect outside of an emergency.
“National Night Out gives us an opportunity to interact with our community and strengthen those relationships in a relaxed, non-enforcement environment,” he said.