Huntsville Hospital Health System’s efforts to make its hospitals safer for patients, employees and visitors have earned its security team national recognition — and a chance to compete on the world stage.
HH Health’s Safety, Security & Parking team was named the 2026 Outstanding Security Team by the U.S. Outstanding Security Performance Awards during a Sept. 13 ceremony at the Global Security Exchange in Atlanta.
The U.S. OSPAs, now in their 11th year, are part of a global awards program operating in 48 countries and recognize outstanding performance across the security industry. A panel of 22 judges selected this year’s U.S. winners.
HH Health was one of eight finalists in the Outstanding Security Team category, competing alongside teams from Amazon Worldwide Operations Security, Arux Group, GardaWorld Security, Jacobs, Piedmont Healthcare, SCAD and University of Michigan Health System.
Judges cited several HH Health programs, including workplace violence prevention efforts, systemwide de-escalation training, wearable duress technology for clinicians and Alabama’s first hospital-based Security K-9 program.
“This award is special because it shows that the work happening here at HH Health stands alongside some of the best security programs in the country,” said Brett Bramlett, director of Safety, Security & Parking for HH Health. “But our goal has never been to win awards. It’s about keeping people as safe as possible and continuously looking for ways to improve. This recognition belongs to our entire team and to the leaders across HH Health who have supported and invested in these programs.”
HH Health says those efforts have produced measurable results over the past three years.
Workplace violence incidents have dropped 28.3%, while workplace violence in the Emergency Department has fallen 46% since the Security K-9 program was implemented. Disorderly conduct among visitors has decreased 26% following implementation of a visitor management system.
The health system has also trained more than 11,000 employees in de-escalation techniques designed to help prevent incidents before they occur.
“This national recognition reflects what we see every day — a Security team that is constantly looking for better ways to protect our patients, visitors and employees,” said Arin Zapf, chief nursing officer for Huntsville Hospital. “Safety isn’t separate from patient care. It’s part of patient care. Their partnership allows our caregivers to focus on providing compassionate, high-quality care while knowing they have a highly trained team supporting them. We are incredibly proud of what they have accomplished.”
The national honor follows another recognition for the department. In 2025, the team received the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety Lindberg Bell Award for excellence in healthcare security, according to HH Health.
Winning the U.S. OSPA also advances the team to the 2026 Global OSPAs, where qualifying winners from OSPA programs around the world will compete for international recognition. The U.S. OSPAs says the competition will be held virtually in January 2027.
Meanwhile, HH Health is continuing to expand its security efforts. Two additional Security K-9 teams are expected to begin training, and officers are receiving additional training for interactions involving behavioral health patients. The department is also evaluating new safety technology and opportunities to expand its security command center.
“We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished, but we’re not finished,” Bramlett said. “There will always be another opportunity to learn, another tool to evaluate and another way we can better protect our patients, visitors and employees.”
Sherri Blevins is a reporter for 256 Today.
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