Tony York, Paladin Security Group’s EVP, has achieved many milestones throughout his 25-year plus career. This includes co-authoring Hospital and Healthcare Security, a definitive book on hospital security, to becoming the President of the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS) in 2007, to being a decade-long contributing member of the influential IAHSS Council on Guidelines.
On September 1, 2020, Tony York added another item to his list of accomplishments: Receiving the IAHSS Elwood G. Near President’s Award.
IAHSS Elwood G. Near President’s Award
The Elwood G. Near President’s Award is awarded to honor the efforts of individuals and organizations who have exemplified standards in the healthcare security professional. Each outgoing IAHSS President is afforded the opportunity to select an individual for this award. Alan Butler, IAHSS’s recent Past-President, could not think of anyone more deserving of this award than Tony York.
A Professional Influence on the Healthcare Security Industry
Alan Butler is the Immediate Past-President for IAHSS and Senior Vice President for HSS. When asked why he selected Tony to be the recipient of the award, Alan stated:
Tony has been, and remains to be, a constant professional influence in the healthcare security industry. More importantly, he will continue to have a tremendous influence on our industry after receiving this achievement, which certainly meets the qualifications of this award.
- Alan Butler, IAHSS Past-President
Alan Butler has known Tony York for almost 20 years. In 2003, the two met at an IAHSS Annual Conference in Breckenridge, Colorado. Five years later, Alan came to work for HSS, which is where he became colleagues and good friends with Tony. Alan’s years in the healthcare security industry may have outnumbered Tony’s, however, it was Tony’s confidence and leadership skills that struck Alan the most.
A Mentor and Leader in Healthcare Security
Tony York has mentored several healthcare security leaders who are now in influential positions across the country. Whether they worked alongside Tony or sat in one of the courses he taught, there are many industry professionals who continue to look up to him, including Alan Butler.
Alan has been on the IAHSS Board of Directors for 5 years and has found it to be one of the most rewarding parts of his professional career. In fact, Alan noted that Tony was one of the reasons he became more involved within IAHSS.
It was Tony’s push and drive that pointed me towards a commitment of volunteer leadership inside of IAHSS. This is because it has always been important for Tony that those who work with him, also give back to their profession.
- Alan Butler, IAHSS Past-President
Tony has always made it a point to contribute to raising the bar of professionalism of the healthcare security industry through IAHSS, which is something he will continue to do as a member of the Council on Guidelines and the task force that produces the Security Design Guidelines for Healthcare Facilities. Not only did Alan express how hard Tony has worked at every level of his career, making him certainly deserving of this award, but also how much of a pleasure Tony was to work with.
We are extremely proud to have watched Tony York receive the IAHSS Elwood G. Near President’s Award via Livestream on September 1, 2020. To learn more about Tony and his role within the Paladin Security Group, read his announcement blog here.
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