Certified Healthcare Protection Administrator (CHPA)

Major Lopes successfully earned his Certified Healthcare Protection Administrator (CHPA) certification from the International Association of Healthcare Security and Safety! For the past year, Major Lopes has spent countless hours studying resources related to healthcare security, emergency management, industry and design guidelines, leadership, workforce management, security integrations, workplace violence and physical security, all of which culminated in a three (3) hour, 220 question exam. This distinction shows his dedication and commitment to excellence in our profession. Please join me in congratulating Major Lopes on achieving this amazing accomplishment! Visit IAHSS to find out more.

2024 SC Law Enforcement Accreditation

We are thrilled to announce that Lexington Medical Center's Public Safety department has received its second accreditation from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Accreditation (SCLEA)! This accreditation signifies our continued commitment to providing the highest level of professional and ethical service to our patients, staff, and visitors. Achieving reaccreditation demonstrates our dedication to maintaining the best practices in law enforcement. It's a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire Public Safety team. Thank you to our officers and staff for their commitment to excellence!

2023 Fall Quarter Awards

On Thursday, February 1, Chief McClarrie presented the Fall Quarter's "Timothy M. James" Eagle Award to TJ Edmundson. The award recognizes an employee who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help others. During this quarter, TJ took taken it upon himself to find ways to create more of a team environment by starting an incentive chart or “scorecard” for the shift officers that compiled valuable information to include response time, self-initiated calls, as well as several other categories. This was created with the idea that he was going compile the data through a scoring program in which he would recognize the officers for their efforts. TJ felt that this was a way to life shift morale and create some competition amongst the team to boost productivity. TJ presented this data to members of the command staff for review and approval on what he was planning and what stats he was compiling, he further asked command staff for suggestions of other items that can be tracked. This data has expanded as it was recognized that much of the information that he was gathering was an excellent resource for the agency and could be used to determine ways that the department was excelling and ways that the department processes could be reviewed to improve our service and service expectations to patients, staff, and guests.

Cheif McClarrie also recognized several other staff members with awards:

• Ofc. Todd Maas was awarded the "Wayne Wilson" Case Contribution Award for his assistance and performance in the closure of an investigation.
• Ofc. Steven McDonald was awarded the 5-year Tenure Service Award.
• Cpl. Matt Young was recognized for his recent promotion to Corporal.

2023 Award of Excellence Recipient

On Wednesday, January 3, Officer Jarrod Leckie was presented with the Award of Excellence by our Chief Executive Officer, Tod Augsburger. The Award of Excellence is presented to employees selected by their departments for outstanding service and commitment to providing excellent care. In addition, Ofc. Leckie was named Public Safety’s 2023 Employee of the Year.

"Jarrod is a natural leader who consistently goes above and beyond his responsibilities,'' says Chief Justin McClarrie. "He took the initiative to establish a training program that enhanced safety and improved performance among officers. Jarrod's peers admire his positive mindset and enthusiasm, and they appreciate how he draws from his experience to educate and inspire others."

2023 Spring Quarter Awards

On Monday, August 14, Chief McClarrie presented the Spring Quarter's "Timothy M. James" Eagle Award to Ronald Engel. The award recognizes an employee who has gone above and beyond the call of duty to help others. During this quarter, Ron was working in the parking lot when he noticed an elderly woman who appeared to be having a medical emergency. He immediately approached her and accessed the situation. It became clear that she needed immediate medical attention. Ron assisted the woman from her vehicle and drove her to the Emergency Room. The woman and her husband later contacted Public Safety to express their gratitude for his attentiveness and awareness. Ron is a valued member of the Public Safety team. He is always willing to help others, and he is always looking for ways to make a difference. He is a true asset to the department, Lexington Medical Center and the community.

Cheif McClarrie also recognized several other staff members with awards:

• Ofc. Micah West was awarded the Exceptional Service Award for his actions during a call for service when he observed a small child walking in a parking garage alone. After speaking with the child, Ofc. West was able to reunite her with her parents. His quick actions most certainly prevented an incident.
• Amanda Snuffer (Communication) was awarded the Exceptional Service Award for her actions when an LMC employee was having issues with their badge. The nurse had been out sick, and when she returned to work, her badge was deactivated. Amanda took it upon herself to set timers to reactivate the employee's badge every three hours so that the nurse could have access to her floor and Pyxis throughout her shift. Amanda's actions allowed the nurse to focus on her patients without having to worry about her badge.
• Cpl. Katelyn Bowie was awarded the Exceptional Service Award for her unwavering commitment to LMC. Recently, Cpl. Bowie went above and beyond to solve a larceny case. She utilized all available cameras to track the movements of the suspect. She was able to track the suspect's movements off the LMC campus, to surrounding businesses. Cpl. Bowie's efforts led to the identification of the suspect and the subsequent arrest.
• Lt. David Foust, Ofc. Jessica Williams and Ofc. Stephen McDonald was awarded the Professional Achievement Award for completing the Child Passenger Safety Technician program
• Ofc. Michael White was awarded the Professional Achievement Award for completing the Basic IAHSS exam
• Crystal Trimnal was awarded the 15-year Tenure Service Award
• Craig Lindler was awarded the 5-year Tenure Service Award
• Ofc. Jessica Williams was recognized for her recent promotion to Police Officer.

CALEA Accreditation

We are proud to announce that we have received unanimous accreditation approval from the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (C.A.L.E.A.). This is a significant accomplishment that demonstrates our commitment to providing the highest level of professional law enforcement services to our community. The accreditation process is a rigorous one that requires agencies to meet a set of high standards in all areas of their operations. In January, our department was assessed on 208 standards, including leadership, management, operations, and training. We are proud to say that we met all of the standards and were unanimously approved for accreditation. This accreditation is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our employees. It is also a reflection of the strong support we receive from our community. We are grateful for the opportunity to serve our community and we will continue to strive to meet the highest standards of professional law enforcement.

Visit their website for more information regarding the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement.

2023 Winter Quarter Awards

This morning, Chief McClarrie presented the "Timothy M. James" Eagle Award to Jarrod Leckie for his dedication to training. During the winter quarter (Jan-Mar), Jarrod expressed an interest in being involved in training, more specifically defensive tactics. Since obtaining the Defensive Tactics instructor certification, Jarrod has been instrumental in the training of all new hires and in our continuous quarterly training. His passion and enthusiasm for training is infectious and has a positive effect our personnel.

Cheif McClarrie also recognized several other staff members with awards:

• Brittany Bowen was awarded the Exceptional Service Award for voluntarily reporting to duty on a day off to assist another dispatcher during a stressful incident
• Derick Gordon and Mark Williams were awarded the Professional Achievement Award for achieving their Basic IAHSS certification
• Maj. Ed Lopes was awarded the Professional Achievement Award for completing Lexington Medical Center's Leadership Program
• Maj. Andy Rowe was awarded the Professional Achievement Award for completing an Internal Affairs training program
• Cpl. Richard Mercer was awarded the Professional Achievement Award for completing the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Command College
• Edwin Hambrick was awarded the 5-year Tenure Service Award

National Public Safety Telecommunications Week

Today marks the beginning of an annual week-long celebration of Public Safety Telecommunicators or "headset heroes." We are lucky to have five (5) dedicated individuals, with over 50 years of experience, donning the headset. They are responsible for all calls for service, dispatching officers, monitoring alarms (panic, burglar, access control, etc.) clinical emergency response codes, camera monitoring, mass notification and information gathering. We are proud and honored to have them as a part of our team. In honor of these special individuals, we have altered our seal to represent the "thin yellow line." To find out more about this week, visit APCO International.

CALEA Public Notice of Reaccreditation

The Lexington County Health Services District Department of Public Safety is scheduled for a site-based assessment on February 13-15, 2023 as part of a process for reaccreditation which verifies we continue to meet all applicable professional law enforcement standards.

Administered by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies, Inc. (CALEA), the reaccreditation process requires agencies to comply with state-of-the art standards in four basic areas: policy and procedures, administration, operations and support services.

As part of the assessment, agency employees and members of the community are invited to offer comments by utilizing the following CALEA public information portal at https://cimrs2.calea.org/622.

2022 Fall Quarter Awards

This morning, Chief McClarrie awarded several of our staff. Major Ed Lopes and Gary Seibles were recognized for their five (5) years of service to Lexington Medical Center and Public Safety and Officer Gage Creech was presented with the Exceptional Service Award for his dedication to his fellow coworkers. Lastly, Sergeant David Dechman was presented with the "Timothy M. James" Eagle Award for his service to our patients.

2022 Summer Quarter Awards

Today, Officer Todd Mass was presented with the "Timothy M. James" Eagle Award for his exceptional service, which went above and beyond the call of duty. On June 24, 2022, Ofc. Maas was patrolling the ED when the nursing staff asked if they would be able to assist three (3) young children and their mother with getting home. The mother was being transported via ambulance, however, there was no room for the children. Ofc. Maas immediately offered to escort the children home in the patrol vehicle, following behind the ambulance. When they arrived at their destination, a hotel not far from the hospital, the children and mother were turned away as they did not have money for the hotel room. Ofc. Maas, without thought, paid for the hotel room for the night for the family and returned to their regular patrol on campus. Ofc. Maas is a hardworking and compassionate person, consistently helping those in need.

Promotion - Edward Lopes

We are very excited to announce that Ed Lopes has accepted the Manager of Public Safety role, where he will oversee the law enforcement and security functions, investigations and the Public Safety Assistants. Ed received his Bachelor’s degree in Justice and Law Administration from Western Connecticut State University. After 26 years of dedicated service, he retired from the Danbury Police Department in Connecticut as a Detective Lieutenant with the Professional Standards Unit before joining Public Safety in 2017. He has an incredible passion for Lexington Medical Center and Public Safety, and we are confident that he will ensure our Department's continued growth and success in providing the professional services you have come to know.

Support the South Carolina Special Olympics

Public Safety is selling patches to promote Autism Awareness. All proceeds will support year-round sports, health and educational programs for the 30, 707 Special Olympic Athletes in South Carolina. Patches are $10 and may be purchased at LexMedPatch.

Public Safety Obtains International Accreditation

On May 4, 2019, Chief Joel B. Huggins, Major Justin P. McClarrie, Major Joseph B. Brogdon and Accreditation Manager Marisa Capers attended the Commission for the Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA) Conference in Huntsville, AL. Public Safety received their first award for law enforcement accreditation from the commission. Receipt of this award highlights the department’s professionalism and devotion to providing gold standard service to the patients, visitors and staff of the Lexington County Health Services District.

Public Safety Obtains the Status of Program of Distinction

Public Safety remains dedicated to offering professional security services to the patients, visitors and employees of Lexington Medical Center. In May 2015, Public Safety obtained the status of Program of Distinction through the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS). This honor makes Public Safety 1 of 37 security/law enforcement agencies in the United States and Canada to obtain this distinction.

South Carolina Police Accreditation Coalition Awards Public Safety with State Law Enforcement Accreditation Status

On June 4, 2015, seven years after becoming a law enforcement agency and spending many labor-intensive hours developing professional standards, policy implementation and demonstrating compliance, the South Carolina Police Accreditation Coalition awarded Public Safety with state law enforcement accreditation status.