On May 22, 2011, five people died and many were injured at St. John’s Hospital in Joplin, Mo., when a vicious tornado struck the town. Flying glass was the main cause of a number of the injuries at the hospital.

Here are four facts related to that incident and other potential ones:

• Flying glass shards from shattered windows are the No. 1 cause of serious injury when a building is struck by a powerful storm or bomb attack.  Yet the majority of the country’s hospitals have little or no window protection.
• Hospitals can’t afford the potential repercussions of an unforeseen weather event or terrorist attack that could cause havoc and tragedy. Their role in their community is too vital.
• Hospital patients generally are immobile and thus significantly at risk should the building’s windows shatter.
• Many hospitals have large amounts of exposed glass related to their design.

Unfortunately, since the St. John’s Hospital tragedy few hospitals have acted to protect their windows against tornadoes, hurricanes or terrorist attack by installing shatter resistant window films. Yet for years the federal government, commercial building owners, school districts, museums and galleries, convention centers and airports have been aggressively protecting their windows through the installation of these safety and security window films.

There’s another reason for film installation: Some films have the benefit of conserving energy by controlling the amount of sun that enters the building. These are often referred to as solar control films.

The question is: When are hospitals and health care facilities going to follow suite and begin securing their windows or conserving energy by installing solar control films?