Inland Regional Center reopening with heightened security, one month after San Bernardino attack

The Inland Regional Center complex in San Bernardino will reopen Monday with heightened security for the first time since a mass shooting there last month that left 14 people dead.

The regional center’s 600 employees coordinate services for more than 30,000 clients with developmental disabilities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The campus includes two office buildings and a conference center that frequently hosted events for other organizations.

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It was hosting a training session and holiday party for San Bernardino County’s Department of Public Health on Dec. 2 when Syed Rizwan Farook, 28, an inspector with the department, and his wife, Tashfeen Malik, 29, began their shooting rampage.

Since the attack, the campus has remained closed. Leeza Hoyt, a spokeswoman for the regional center, said it distributed 350 iPads to employees in the days after the shooting, allowing them to access patient records and stay in touch with service providers to coordinate care remotely.

But Hoyt said being back together under the same roof will help employees do their work more effectively.

“They work in teams, and as you can imagine, they’re all looking forward to getting back together with their team,” she said. “There’s a camaraderie that happens; there’s a brainstorming function that happens.”

As for the clients, she said, “I think knowing the building is again operating and open will give them a sense of comfort.”

There will be counselors available for employees who need them, Hoyt said. There also will be heightened security, including a fence that has been erected around the campus and security guards who will be checking the IDs of people entering the complex.

While the two office buildings will be up and running Monday, the conference center will remain closed. Hoyt said the center has not yet decided what will be done with that building.

Twitter: @sewella

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