Putting people trackers to work

Nov 1, 1997 12:00 PM, Staff

Sharp HealthCare protects infants from abduction Though not a crime of epidemic proportions, the abduction of infants (birth through 6 months) from healthcare facilities by non-family members has become a matter of concern to parents, maternal child care nurses, healthcare security and risk management administrators, law enforcement officials and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

As a result, healthcare providers such as Sharp HealthCare - a San Diego healthcare delivery system, which delivers more than 14,000 babies every year - follow guidelines provided by NCMEC on prevention of, and response to, infant abductions. John Rabun, NCMEC's vice president and chief operating officer, studied infant abductions in cooperation with several other agencies and considers them preventable, in part, by hardening the target.

Hardening the target The system at Sharp HealthCare includes six acute care hospitals, one specialty women's hospital, three medical groups, medical clinics, urgent care centers and skilled nursing facilities. Ray Albright, a retired San Diego police officer of 30 years, has been the system manager of security for Sharp HealthCare for close to five years. He is challenged with the ongoing task of updating Sharp's security system throughout its system of hospitals. He follows the guidelines set up by an internal security committee as well as those set up by the NCMEC.

"Sharp's women's services infant floors have public access and the openness to come and go, but they also have to be security-sensitive," says Albright. "Infants can't tell you that something has gone wrong security-wise, so it's up to us to protect the innocent from unauthorized movement."

Albright worked in cooperation with San Diego-based Alarms Unlimited and Synergistics, Natick, Mass., to implement an infant abduction security system using Synergistics' WA-PAC Tracker, a security tracking system for portable assets.

Albright says that safeguarding newborn infants requires a comprehensive program, including: * healthcare policy; * education of, and teamwork among, nursing staff, parents and security and risk management; and * coordination of various elements of physical and electronic security.

David Reed of Alarms Unlimited says Sharp faced several security challenges. "The first requirement was to control use of certain areas of the hospital while maintaining an open, receptive atmosphere. Controlling access in a hospital is difficult because of the cross-departmental use of personnel and assets. Maintaining an open and receptive environment requires that systems that are installed work in the background without distracting the staff from their primary task - healthcare.

"We addressed the problem by designing a system that would allow the Labor and Delivery and Recovery and Post-Partum staff to function as usual and still provide infant and physical asset protection," says Reed. "The system matches assets to users in a database. It is set up to allow the nurses to move infants and physical assets around the ward freely. Of course, we also programmed it to allow mothers to move their babies around the ward. Mothers are linked electronically to their baby, so if they accidentally pick up the wrong baby, they generate an alarm as they pass through a detection portal."

When authorized personnel leave with appropriate items, the system opens the door and lists a "Valid Asset" transaction. It lists the person having possession of the infant at a specific time and location. But if the system reads an asset tag without a valid escort tag, an "Asset Alarm" condition occurs at the security console, which activates local ancillary equipment and displays the location of the alarm.

"We needed to keep a database of infant movement through alarm portals in the case of an attempted abduction. It is critical to capture as much data as possible regarding the crime and the perpetrator. The system keeps detailed records of the tag transactions that occur," says Reed.

The system also serves as a security safeguard against equipment theft. Reed says hospitals are losing hard assets in increasing numbers and that the items stolen range from electronic thermometers to cardiac and respiratory monitors as well as portable x-ray machines and diagnostic equipment. It is not clear where the assets are going, but it is certain they are disappearing at an ever-increasing rate.

The WA-PAC system is coupled with ID badging to monitor and record the activities of all levels of hospital personnel. It is also used in conjunction with a CCTV system that includes Sony cameras, Robot multiplexers and Sanyo real-time VCRs to document a potential abduction as it occurs. The combination of system solutions helps resolve and document false alarms for security followup and supports overall high-quality security management. CCTV cameras, alarm panels and security signage also serve as visual deterrents to potential abductors.

The proof is in the pudding Albright conducts regular security reviews of protocols and critical incident response plans to ensure they effectively address all security issues to help prevent and document infant abduction attempts at Sharp's facilities.

"If someone can wander in a security-sensitive area unchallenged, there's a problem. We've had people enter our facilities who've met the profile of an abductor, but never had the chance to take a newborn because we've always intervened. Several of those incidents involved a child protective services hold, where a baby was held for medical/social reasons," says Albright.

He describes electronic security measures as modern tools used to back up hospital policy and nursing practices. Not only do they discourage and deter potential abductors, but they may also enhance the ability of nursing, security and risk management personnel to work as a team. He cautions, though, that the systems are intended only as part of an overall security program. The most critical factor in securing any facility is the management of staff and facilities and maintaining a constant awareness of security-related issues.

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© 2012 Penton Media Inc.

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