The Reid Health Police Department reached a new milestone this week with the graduation of its first class of officers from the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy on Tuesday.
Sgt. Brian Jackson, Sgt. Brian Bolin, Officer Mike Hurst, and Officer Ryan Gerber were sworn in back in early September and began their eight weeks of training at the academy in October.
Early this year, Reid Health made the decision to transform its security team to a police department, joining other health systems around the state. The move is intended to enhance the security and safety of the patients, visitors, staff and community members who use Reid services.
“By being a police department, we will have the ability to handle and deal with situations without needing outside police assistance,” said Randy Kolentus, Chief of Police for Reid.
“We will, however, continue to get their assistance with larger events that our team will be trained for in the future.”
Eleven of the 23 members of the security team have been sworn in as officers so far, but the four who graduated from the academy this week represent the first to formally make the transition who were not already trained police officers.
Four more officers are scheduled to begin their training at the academy in January. All told, it is expected to take two more years to finish transitioning all members of the security team.
“We have exceptional police officers who stand ready to assist our patients, their families, and our team members.” — Jennifer Ehlers, Reid Health Vice President/Chief Quality Officer
The change to a formal police department reflects the growth of Reid Health and the accompanying increase in the need for police assistance, Kolentus said. When the move to establish the department first was announced, he noted the Richmond Police Department responded to Reid calls almost 900 times in 2019.
Becoming a police force means increased training and certifications. It also provides officers arrest authority and allows them to deal more effectively with an increasing number of potentially violent incidents.
The former Security Department has grown from nine officers in 2016 to more than twice that today, a reflection of the Reid Health system’s growth geographically and in number of team members to about 3,400.
Jennifer Ehlers, Reid Health Vice President/Chief Quality Officer, said she is proud of the work being done by the police department and this first group of academy graduates.
“We have exceptional police officers who stand ready to assist our patients, their families, and our team members,” she said. “Attending and graduating from the academy is affirmation of their dedication, skills, and individual professionalism. It is my honor to serve with this very talented group of professionals who exemplify their class motto of ‘Excellence without Exception.'”
