SECURITY TODAY, SECURITY TOMORROW

Aug 1, 2002 12:00 PM, By DON GARBERA

North Shore University Hospital is rated the top hospital in this year's AARP survey of “The Top Hospitals In America.” As part of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System, North Shore incorporates 18 hospitals and numerous affiliated organizations, making it the largest healthcare provider on Long Island.

The security operation at the North Shore University Hospital has embarked on an extensive upgrade that will link the hospital's buildings to the entire North Shore LIJ system.

Chris Leibfried, director of security at North Shore University Hospital, joined the hospital more than a year ago after serving 20 years with the Suffolk County Police Department and a stint as director of security at Smith Town Saint John's Episcopal Hospital.

Leibfried — who is also the chairperson of the Security Director's Committee for the 18-hospital North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System — is responsible for campus support services at the 731-bed and 61-bassinet North Shore hospital, as well as the 256-bed Center for Extended Care and Rehabilitation in Manhasset, Long Island. Campus support services include security, mail room, transportation, voice communications and parking garage services.

Soon after he arrived, Leibfried set out to construct a security plan. First, he hired an outside consultant to assess the campus security operation, consisting of interviews and discussions with hospital management and staff. The consultant provided written recommendations, which were reviewed and eventually adopted as the Environmental Care Improvement Project for 2001.

“Shortly after joining the hospital, I became concerned with standardization of security officer uniforms, officer's visibility on campus, and incident reporting and writing practices,” Leibfried says. “Through the survey, we recognized opportunities for security management practices and increasing security presence.”

The scope of the survey included overall appropriateness; current levels of security relative to providing reasonable levels of protection for patients, visitors, employees and property; accepted security practices; and interpretations of security rules, regulations and accrediting principles.

“We wanted to come up with a game plan and move forward,” Leibfried says. “Our decision was to get more pro-active, believing that the best offense is a good defense.” The survey revealed employee concerns about a lack of reasonable protection and an effective security presence on the campus.

To date, 75 percent of the survey's recommendations have been implemented, and progress is visible. Since implementing survey recommendations, transportation personnel have been uniformed, state licensed and trained as security officers for additional deployment. Security officers are now becoming IAHSS (International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety) certified and tested, and policies have been developed for all security-sensitive areas — access, incident response and training requirements. The 46 proprietary security officers wear standardized “police type” uniforms, whereas officers previously wore hard and soft uniforms and even sport jackets.

Communications capacity has been increased across the campus with Motorola two-way radios, and an additional 12 blue-light emergency call boxes have been installed and integrated with the two-way radio system. Phone systems in the hospital's two parking garages have been increased from 22 to 46 units. The new phone system rings to a dedicated line, and incorporates identifiers to inform the command center of a phone's location.

To meet other physical security recommendations, fluorescent lights in the parking garage and at 11 other designated areas of the campus have been replaced with 175-watt metal halide lighting units. Security booths have also been refurbished and visibly marked. Additionally, a single-card access system, the Diamond II system from InfoGraphics, is targeted for completion in 2003.

PROTECTING OUR MOST PRECIOUS RESOURCE

The hospital maintains a Code Alert Infant Protection System which is integrated with a Northern Computer Win-Pak Card Access System and a CCTV system. The 13 cameras in the system are running 24 hours a day. If the Code Alert System is activated, it locks all doors and triggers a time-lapse recording of the incident in real-time.

The Code Alert System is scheduled to be upgraded in 2003 to the latest Code Alert technology. A significant part of this upgrade will involve tags placed on newborns. “The tags currently identifying the infants are on a low-frequency band. They will be changed to a higher frequency which will still not harm the infant, but will reduce interference and improve efficiency,” says Richard Earley, assistant director of security and campus support services. “The upgrade will also improve coverage in the area, and make it easier for clinical staff to enter, modify or remove infant information in the computer.”

CONSTANT WATCH

Currently, 135 Panasonic and Sony cameras are strategically located throughout the campus. Within the coming year, 112 new cameras will be added (an 82 percent increase). The hospital is considering migrating all recording devices from analog to digital. All the cameras will be integrated into the one access card system which will be on line by 2003. The hospital's security command center, equipped with technology from Panasonic, will also be upgraded to accommodate the new card system and additional CCTV equipment.

EMPLOYEE OPINIONS MATTER

Leibfried is planning to institute a second employee satisfaction survey, and plans to continue administering the surveys in subsequent years.

“You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by conducting employee surveys,” he says. “For best results, surveys should be conducted as a collaborative effort with, and the endorsement of, hospital management.”

FOR THE RECORD

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Don Garbera is a Stamford, Ct.-based writer and a regular contributor to Access Control & Security Systems

ABOUT THE COMPANIES

For information, please circle the appropriate Reader Service number (listed below) on one of the Reader Service cards in the issue or visit infoLINK at www.securitysolutions.com.

Panasonic CCTV	31
InfoGraphic Systems	32
Sony	33
Motorola	32
Northern Computer	33

SECURITY EVER VIGILANT

A recent incident attests to the improved capabilities of the security staff at the North Shore University Hospital. It began when the security department received a report that unauthorized travel-related expenses were being charged to executives' corporate credit cards.

“It appeared that the common denominator was the on-campus travel agency,” says Chris Leibfried, head of security at the hospital. “We first investigated the travel agency offices, focusing on how they secured their client receipt tickets and any other credit card information.”

Leibfried and his staff discovered some careless practices, but established that the perpetrator was unlikely to be an employee of the agency. “We then turned our sights on the people, other than the employees, who also had access to the travel agency premises — the cleaning staff. The break in the case came when we discovered a charge to a physician's credit card for rental of a party tent at a private residence not belonging to the physician.”

“We spoke to the delivery person who set up the tent and obtained a good physical description of the individual that took delivery. We then obtained copies of the photo ID cards of three individuals assigned to cleaning the travel agency offices,” he adds.

“We wound up getting a positive ID, and confronted the individual who then confessed. It seems that as he was cleaning the travel agency premises, he noticed that the agency staff were carelessly leaving credit card receipts laid out on their desks after completing transactions. He used the credit card numbers from the receipts for credit card fraud,” Leibfried explains. “The employee was subsequently dismissed and made restitution.”

Leibfried says this cleared out six pending cases of credit card fraud under investigation at the travel agency.

IS THAT STRANGER A DANGER?

As part of the security improvement process, Chris Leibfried of North Shore University Hospital produced a security officer's handbook, an employee-resident brochure and a variety of table tents and security marketing tools providing security and safety tips. One brochure offers suggestions to help employees create a safer environment by using an acronym for the word ‘danger.’

• Do approach strangers in your area.
• Ask if you can be of assistance.
• Note anything out of the ordinary.
• Give information or assistance if needed.
• Evaluate what you see and hear.
• Report suspicious circumstances to Security.

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

This month in Access Control

• Opening Up About Door Closers
• An Enterprise Approach
• The Framework For Open Systems
• On A Higher Plane
• More from April's issue