Attack spurs upgrade at hospital

Apr 1, 1999 12:00 PM, DON GARBERA

"We have our own career criminal," says Ben Scaglione, director of security, New York Cornell Campus of The New York Presbyterian Hospital.

In 1996, a physician at the hospital was slashed with a razor by a former patient's father, who was distraught that he couldn't be at his dying daughter's bedside because he had been incarcerated at the time of her death. Ironically, the father had been in prison for stabbing a nurse at the same hospital years earlier, comments Scaglione.

Because of the incident, Scaglione updated his entire security system to the tune of $1 million.

Located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, the Cornell Campus of The New York Presbyterian Hospital is a 2,322-bed academic/medical center committed to patient care, biomedical science, medical education and community service.

Formed by a recent merger of The New York Hospital and The Presbyterian Hospital, New York Presbyterian Hospital offers state-of-the-art health care services in all fields of medicine. The medical center serves as the tertiary hub of the New York Presbyterian Healthcare Network, a health care delivery system that includes 32 hospitals and more than 100 other health care facilities in the metropolitan area with combined revenues of approximately $4.3 billion.

Scaglione's responsibilities include overall safety and security for hospital assets, patients and staff. He oversees not only the security staff, but also the locksmith department, and he leads the fire safety effort. Sixteen buildings, including four housing units, are under his jurisdiction.

What is unique about his security operation? "We rely on technology to provide our services," replies Scaglione.

The computerized access control system is based on an ID system from Idesco. The ITC 1000 server-client system stores information about more than 17,000 people in its database. The ID system is also tied to an IDenticard 9000 system, used to restrict access. Employees carry a photo ID card, used to gain access into more than 120 hospital areas such as the pharmacy, operating rooms, pediatrics, food services and general stores, along with secondary ingress areas such as terminal gates.

One of the ID system's advantages is being able to use the captured images for other purposes. For example, it is used at verification stations located at selected hospital building entrances and for investigative purposes. The system saves the images on a network, and then distributes them to PCs at selected main entrances. Employees entering buildings must be identified - either by ID card or visually.

An officer at a particular entrance can access an employee's image, and demographic information such as his or her department and telephone number, through touch-screen technology. The information can be used to assist or to verify identity. "With this technology, we not only identify employees, but also prior perpetrators," says Scaglione. The security department also uses the computers to disseminate daily assignments to officers.

Digital video Another feature of Scaglione's operation is a NICE digital video recording system. The system replaces traditional videotape with 8mm AIT tape. Images can be enhanced, manipulated, and are networkable. Sound also can be recorded on a separate track. Primarily used on the maternity floor, it records all alarm conditions instantaneously, and provides pre-alarm recording for up to five minutes. For example, if an unauthorized person walks out of a maternity floor exit with an infant and triggers an alarm condition, the system will instantly recall and store not only the incident, but also activities that preceded the incident for five minutes prior to the alarm condition. "Once that occurs, the color images can be enhanced, networked to officer stations, and printed out within a matter of seconds," says Scaglione.

The security operation also employs a proprietary application system that tracks incident reports. The data from a particular incident is linked with images involved in that crime. As an investigative tool, the system determines what types of incidents have occurred, and where. The CCTV and access control systems were designed and installed by MSI, Kearny, N.J.

One-hundred-and-fifty-two Panasonic cameras, 75 to 80 percent of which are color, survey the campus. Many are located on the maternity floor, pediatrics, pharmacy, ground floor hallways and parking garage. Twelve Pelco Spectra domes are also employed in key lobby areas.

The security command center houses Panasonic 9-inch monitors, Sony 20-inch call-up monitor, the NICE system, four Robot MV96E multiplexers, IDenticard Series 9000 access control monitoring system, Panasonic VCRs, an Aiphone intercom system, a Motorola base station, Nextel cell phone radio and pager base, and Honeywell Notifier fire alarm system.

Ninety-six proprietary officers make up the guard staff, all of which receive training over and above what is mandated by the State of New York. They receive 40 hours of training annually in crisis intervention, report writing, customer service and use of security systems. The command center staff receives specialized off-site computer training in access control.

What's in store for the future at The New York Presbyterian Hospital? "We plan on developing a security home page where employees can get current crime information, report an incident, generate a locksmith order, and view photos of perpetrators. We also plan to expand the NICE and IDenticard systems to restrict access to upper floors, expand officer training, and tighten integration between security applications and hospital-wide information systems," replies Scaglione.

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