Infant Security News
Dedicated
to Preventing Infant Abductions & Mother / Baby Mix-ups
|
Security
Assessments International 2405 |
Routing: [ ] Maternal – Child Care [ ] Pediatrics [ ] Risk Management [ ]
Facility Services [ ] Security
VOLUME I NUMBER I April, 2003
“Infant Security News” is SAI’s quarterly newsletter dedicated to
helping hospitals provide protection for their youngest patients. Each edition of this free newsletter will
feature current infant security events in the news, and each issue we’ll
analyze an actual infant abduction case.
Cases will be analyzed to determine how security was defeated and
recommended preventive measures.
INTRODUCTION
Security Assessments International, Inc. “The
Beginning” by Jeff Aldridge, CPP
In 1987, while serving as President of the
North Carolina Safety/Security Healthcare Council, I became aware of an infant
abduction which had occurred at a
Collectively, we decided to cover infant
security at our next seminar. During a
work session we developed a proactive prevention program for our member
hospitals to share with their maternal-child care professionals. Our first prevention program covered the
review and revision of protocols, policies, and procedures, as well as physical
layout of the OB Unit and awareness training.
The Jason McClure abduction, which
occurred at
Note:
Jeff Aldridge is an internationally recognized healthcare security
expert and has worked with Fortune 500 Companies in their design and
development of state-of-the-art security products for the healthcare
industry. Mr. Aldridge founded SAI in
1994 and continues to serve as a consultant to the National media and law
enforcement on infant security issues.
He was recently interviewed by NBC, CBS, and the FOX network on
mother-baby mix-ups in relation to HR 78 which is a newly proposed
Congressional Bill that mandates protection of newborns from abduction and
mother-baby mix-ups in hospitals.
CASE STUDY #1001 HOSPITAL ABDUCTION
Women and Infant Medical Center, Northwest
US – Women’s Medical Center was thrust into the National spotlight when an 8
hour-old baby was taken from the mother’s room by a woman posing as a nurse. The baby was recovered unharmed four days
later following an exhaustive police and FBI investigation. The recovery came in the form of a tip, as a
result of the hospital and the local media working together to plead for the
baby’s return.
According to police reports a 24 year-old
female, wearing a scrub smock, entered the mother’s room and convinced the
mother her baby needed to be taken back to the nursery for a medical test. Police believe the abductor gained access to
the mother/baby unit through an emergency exit on the maternity floor and ultimately
left the hospital through the main entrance of the hospital. A floor nurse discovered the abduction when
she went to the mother’s room to return the baby to the nursery. This inner-city hospital had planned to
up-grade physical security in the mother/baby unit following an incident they
experienced the previous year. While an
infant electronic tagging system had been tentatively approved it was awaiting
final approval by administration. A
national security expert was retained to offer recommendations after the
hospital continued to suffer adverse publicity.
Because of the amount of negative
publicity generated by the victim hospital, several hospitals in the community
felt compelled to harden the security at their facilities.
Contributing Factors /
Vulnerabilities
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· |
· Large Birth Rate (9,000 a year) |
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· No Visitation Policy |
· Open Access to Mother/Baby Unit |
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· Unsecured Emergency Exits |
· Limited Parental Education |
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· Unsecured Nurses Lounge |
· No second form of ID in Mother/Baby Unit |
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· Inadequate Physical Security |
· Wearing of Staff ID Not Enforced |
Preventive Measures
1. Perform an Annual “Threat Assessments”
to ID vulnerabilities.
2. Identify all personnel that enter your
maternal-childcare and pediatric units.
3. Control Access for all Maternal-Child
Care and Pediatric Units.
4. Equip Emergency Exits with time delay
locks that alarm 15-30 seconds after activation.
5. Provide Staff Authorized to transport
babies a second form of identification.
6. Secure staff dressing rooms and lounges.
7. Install CCTV, Card Access, and Infant
Electronic Alarms.
8. Require all staff to wear their
hospital photo ID.
9. Provide educational material to mothers
describing how to assist in the protection of her baby.
10. Create an infant security committee to
assist in the evaluation if the mother/baby & pediatric unit.
NOTE: Consult with a Healthcare
Security Professional with expertise in infant and pediatric security to assist
you and your staff in developing the most effective, cost efficient security
program for your facility. In most
cases, a security professional can save the hospital considerably more money
than would be spent on the consultant’s fee.
IN THE NEWS
Dateline: New
Zealand New
Zealand 5 April 2003 )
Babies born at an
A little over 10 years
ago a woman abducted a baby from it’s bassinet at National Women’s
Hospital. Authorities recovered the
newborn the next day and charged the 24-year old female with kidnapping. The extensive security is being added to try
to get a handle on a number of infant abductions that have occurred from
hospitals in that country. Parents told
of the new procedures applauded the use of the new infant electronic bracelets.
Mother / Baby Mix-Ups in the News
"Baby
Swap" - NewsPronet Interactive Special Report produced by SweepsFeed
http://www.newspronet.com/products/feeds/SweepsFeed/2003/0308/13930-BabySwap.wmv
On-line
resources
Security Assessments International – www.saione.com
Sample Vulnerability
Assessment - www.saione.com/sampleassessment.htm
The
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) now
defines both infant abduction AND infant switching as a Sentinel Event. Hospitals that fail to provide an appropriate
response to the occurrence of such an event risk the loss of their JCAHO
accreditation.
Infant Abductions: Preventing Future
Occurrences
http://www.jcaho.org/about+us/news+letters/sentinel+event+alert/print/sea_9.htm
The
Joint Commission's Standard EC.1.4 in the Comprehensive
Accreditation Manual for Hospitals: The Official Handbook, calls for a
management plan to address security and includes as an example of
implementation a community hospital's study of security in its postpartum
newborn nursery area.
Future Newsletter Topics
Parent Education
Essential
Components
of a “Self-Assessment”
How
to conduct a successful “Code Pink”
Educating
Employees and Staff
“Pros
& Cons of an Infant Protection System”
Fallacy
of Foot Printing “A Thing of the Past”
Mother/Baby
Mix-ups “How to Prevent the Unthinkable”
Hospital
Liability “When to hire an Expert”
Disclaimer
Advice given in this
"Newsletter" is general in nature, and subscribers (readers of this
material) should consult with professional counsel for specific legal, ethical,
or clinical advice. The information provided in the SAI
Newsletters is for educational purposes only and should not be
considered 'legal' advice. Websites listed are for reference only
and are provided for subscribers (readers of the material) to have an
opportunity to read the original documents in total. Please consult your
legal counsel or Compliance Officer for clarification of laws and rules related
to your State when applicable.
SAI is not affiliated with the Joint
Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
SAI
- ©April 2003