Xtract One Technologies is rolling out its SmartGateway systems across several healthcare facilities in California, in response to significant interest within the healthcare sector to comply with new state legislation.
These installations are anticipated to be completed by mid-August, specifically targeting high-traffic areas at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister and Contra Costa Health in Martinez. This follows a prior deployment at San Mateo Health. The surge in demand is largely attributed to California Assembly Bill 2975, which mandates enhanced security screenings at hospital entrances by March 2027.
Addressing legislative requirements
Assembly Bill 2975 represents a concerted effort by regulators and healthcare leaders to address the risks of weapons-related incidents in hospitals. Under this regulation, hospitals statewide must enhance their security measures at prominent public entrances, particularly including emergency departments. The aim is to protect staff and patients while maintaining operational efficiency in these high-use areas. According to Peter Evans, CEO of Xtract One, healthcare providers are choosing SmartGateway for its compatibility within clinical settings.
The aim is to protect staff and patients while maintaining operational efficiency in these high-use areas
SmartGateway caters to environments with high patient flow and minimal personal-item scanning. It is optimised for detecting concealed weapons like guns and knives while allowing individuals to move through swiftly, in stark contrast to traditional metal detectors that signal for any metal presence. "The solution's efficiency and precision have proven valuable to facilities like Hazel Hawkins and Contra Costa Health," stated Evans. The expectation is that once hospitals experience the system's efficacy, further expansion across facilities is inevitable.
Case studies: Hazel Hawkins and Contra Costa Health
At Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital, the SmartGateway is already operational at crucial entry points, including the emergency department, the main entrance, and the labour and delivery area. Jorge Ramirez, Director of Emergency Management and Security at the hospital, emphasised the importance of mitigating violence while ensuring seamless workflow. Dale Fors added that the system allows for weapons screening without disrupting hospital operations.
Similarly, Contra Costa Health is implementing SmartGateway across key entrances including the emergency, main, and psychiatric entries. The focus here is on precise detection to prevent firearms and bladed weapons from entering clinical areas, complemented by a bag check at the main entrance for comprehensive security measures.
Xtract One Technologies announces multiple SmartGateway deployments across California healthcare facilities, reflecting growing demand from health systems across the state ahead of the March 2027 compliance deadline for California Assembly Bill 2975. Deployments are underway at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in Hollister and Contra Costa Health in Martinez, with expected completion by mid-August, in addition to the previously reported San Mateo Health deployment.
AB 2975 requires hospitals across California to implement enhanced security measures at high-traffic public entrances by March, 2027. The mandate reflects a broader recognition among healthcare administrators and state regulators that emergency departments and other public-facing hospital entrances require dedicated screening to protect staff and patients from weapons-related violence.
Real procurement decisions
"California health systems are making real procurement decisions right now, and the facilities selecting Xtract One are doing so because the technology fits the environment," said Peter Evans, CEO of Xtract One.
"SmartGateway was built for high patient and visitor volumes, diverse populations, and clinical staff who need to focus on care. What we're seeing across Hazel Hawkins, Contra Costa Health, and San Mateo – and more broadly with healthcare systems in general – is that once an organisation sees accurate, high-throughput detection running in a real hospital environment, expanding the solution across the facility becomes an obvious next step."
Divesting personal items
Xtract One's presence in California healthcare predates the AB 2975 mandate. San Mateo Medical Center deployed SmartGateway at its main campus in 2025 following extensive testing of available solutions, with plans to expand to all satellite clinics. The Hazel Hawkins and Contra Costa Health deployments build on that established footprint as health systems across the state accelerate their procurement timelines ahead of the March 2027 deadline.
Xtract One's SmartGateway is designed specifically for high-throughput environments with lower volumes of personal belongings. The system identifies concealed guns and knives while allowing individuals to walk through at a natural pace without divesting personal items, distinguishing it from traditional walk-through metal detectors that alert broadly on any metal object. For healthcare environments where speed and accessibility are critical to patient care, that distinction matters.
Emergency department entrance
The first of three initial SmartGateway systems is now operational at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital's emergency department entrance, the hospital's main entrance, and the labour and delivery wing.
"Our emergency department sees the most public foot traffic of any entrance we have, which makes it the right place to start," said Jorge Ramirez, Director of Emergency Management and Security at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital. "Reducing the risk of violence against our staff, our patients, and our visitors is the goal behind every part of this rollout."
Weapons-related incidents
"This deployment gives our team the ability to screen for weapons without slowing down the emergency department or changing how patients and staff experience our facility. That balance mattered to us throughout the evaluation process," said Dale Fors, Manager of Security at Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital.
The hospital noted that the new security measures are being implemented to meet the requirements of the state mandate rather than in response to any specific increase in weapons-related incidents at the facility.
Possible security posture
Contra Costa Health has also selected three SmartGateway systems for deployment across its main entrance, emergency department, and psychiatric entrance in the primary hospital facility. The deployment is driven by a clear security mandate of detecting and intercepting firearms and bladed weapons before they reach clinical environments.
Contra Costa Health has prioritised detection accuracy above all other operational considerations, implementing a bag check protocol alongside SmartGateway screening at its main entrance to ensure the most thorough possible security posture across all three entry points.
