COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Members of Ohio State University’s nurses union are asking for increased security at Wexner Medical Center, rallying behind a message: “We are Buckeyes, not bullseyes.”

Amy Pompeii is president of OSUNO, the Ohio State University Nurses Organization, representing more than 4,000 nurses. She said concerns go beyond the contract she is currently negotiating with hospital leadership and into daily operations. She said OSUNO is asking for a secured EMS entrance, increased security and better communication from leadership, demands that intensified after multiple weapons came into the hospital unnoticed.

Hospital spokesperson Marti Leitch said it is responding to concerns and already has many security systems in place to protect nurses and patients.

“The medical center always takes the safety and security of our patients, visitors and staff very seriously. Prevention is our top priority,” Leitch said.

Pompeii said anxiety increased in December when a patient bypassed a metal detector scan and entered the hospital with a loaded gun. OSUNO filed an employee safety complaint with the Ohio Workers Bureau, which said the patient was aggressive and threatening for at least an hour before the weapon was discovered. The same month, another gun was only found on a patient when it showed up on a CAT scan at Ohio State East Hospital.

“We want to be the best nurses we can be, and not a bullseye to a weapon that shouldn’t be there in the first place,” Pompeii said.

Pompeii said the security officers at the hospital are excellent, but OSUNO feels there are not enough of them to adequately address concerns. However, Leitch said the team of security officers provides constant security and surveillance.

“Our security teams, including Ohio State police officers in our emergency departments, use best-practice safety procedures, technologies and staff training 24/7 to keep our facilities as safe as possible for everyone,” Leitch said.

Leitch said the Wexner Medical Center is conducting a major safety review. One of the first changes is implementing new weapons detectors at public entrances through the summer, a demand that was pressing for OSUNO members.

Hospital staff announced the new detectors on April 11, but Pompeii said nurses are worried about what could happen before then. She said OSUNO only knows the detectors are coming and want a clearer timeline.

Wexner Medical Center already has one metal detector, which Pompeii said is located at the main entrance for anyone walking into the Emergency Department. The detector identified more than 9,500 weapons trying to enter the hospital last year. This marked a noticeable increase from preceding years, but 2,000 fewer incidents than before the pandemic.

OSUNO members are also concerned about what detectors fail to catch. The same week new metal detectors were announced, Pompeii said three patients brought knives in. She said at least one patient went through the metal detector, which went off, but told security he had a hip replacement that was sounding the alarm and was allowed through.

Pompeii said a lack of communication makes her feel unsafe and she wonders how many incidents occur that she does not hear about.

“No one from administration told the nurses, we didn’t get an email to say, ‘Hey, just so you know, this happened in the emergency room, this came into our building.’ The only reason why I know as the president of the union is because my nurses are reaching out and telling us,” Pompeii said.

Leitch said all affected staff were informed of what happened.

“The medical center is committed to communicating openly and appropriately about safety and security concerns,” Leitch said. “We want to reassure everyone that the extremely rare, isolated incidents involving weapons brought into the hospital were safely managed. We ensured that the affected staff were promptly and appropriately informed and that support services were offered.”

Leitch said the hospital is trying to get staff perspectives where possible to better address safety concerns. She said the Wexner Medical Center’s safety workgroup features nurses and other staff, who have been involved in creating updated security plans.

“Having nursing and other key representatives from across the medical center on our safety work group for several years has been vital to help ensure that our many security tools and safety protocols are effective, followed and continually updated, and that resources are available if incidents do occur,” Leitch said.

But Pompeii said some proposed solutions allocate more responsibilities to nurses, such as a suggestion that nurses put wristbands on patients entering through unsecured doors to indicate they had been properly screened.

“We don’t feel that we should be tasked with ensuring that security has done their job,” Pompeii said. “That is the medical center’s responsibility to make sure there’s enough security that are hired and launched in the department to make sure that our staff are safe.”

Union and OSU leadership have been renegotiating their contract over the past month. Pompeii said she’s working to include workplace safety provisions in the contract to offer further protection, although it does not replace ongoing union safety demands. Union contract discussions continue this week.