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Infant Security News

Dedicated to Preventing Infant Abductions & Mother / Baby Mix-ups

Security Assessments International 2405 Monthaven Drive, Durham, NC 27712 (919) 384-8299

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VOLUME III NUMBER II August, 2005

“Infant Security News” is SAI’s quarterly newsletter dedicated to helping hospitals protect their youngest patients. Each edition of this free newsletter will feature current infant security events in the news. Abductions or mother/baby mix-ups will be analyzed to determine how security was defeated and corrective measures will be recommended in the hope of preventing future occurrences..

“Total Security Solution” Thwarts Infant Abduction from Charlotte Hospital

By Jeff Aldridge, CPP

An infant abduction was thwarted at Presbyterian Hospital in Charlotte, NC on July 15^th with the help of a state-of-the-art electronic infant protection system that was part of an elaborate security management plan. The parents of a newborn baby boy were arrested while attempting to abduct their baby from the hospital’s nursery. The mother and father snatched their 4-day old son from the seventh-floor nursery, placed him in a black duffel bag and ran from the hospital. The kidnapping was designed to prevent the Department of Social Services from taking custody of the baby boy. The parents’ other children had been placed in the custody of the Department of Social Services earlier.

Quick actions by hospital staff in response to a Code Pink alert set in motion a well established and practiced plan that lead to the swift recovery of the infant. Immediately upon hearing the “Infant Abduction Alert” hospital employees tracked the parents through the hospital to the outside where security officers apprehended the mother and father. Amazingly, the baby remained asleep throughout the entire event and was not harmed. The baby boy was not born at the hospital, but had been taken there for a medical exam. The elaborate security plan activated by hospital staff covered every possible contingency in the event of an infant abduction. All staff and employees in every department responded appropriately forcing the would-be-abductors right into the arms of their security staff.

For an infant tagging system to have the ability to prevent an abductor from leaving the OB or Pediatric Unit with a baby, the system has to be designed to immediately lock all exits and emergency fire egresses when a tagged baby is brought near an exit. Fire codes have prevented hospitals in the past from having the ability to lock-down their units, however, the new NFPA 2000 Life Safety Code now allows exits from the OB and Pediatric units to be equipped with a time-delay lock and alarm system to prohibit a potential abductor from leaving with a baby through an emergency egress or exit. When an emergency time-delay lock and alarm system is activated the door locks and alarms for several seconds prohibiting the individual from making an unauthorized exit from the unit. This allows time for staff members to confront anyone attempting to leave with a baby. These systems also serve as an excellent deterrent to anyone that is thinking of using one of the monitored exits for any unauthorized purpose.

Even with state-of-the-art security electronics a hospital cannot reach a “Total Security Solution” without providing education and training for all employees with appropriately written protocols, policies, and procedures, re-enforced with on-going education and training.

Without exception, the single most important element in the prevention of an infant abduction is awareness by staff and parents. Uninformed employees, staff and parents constitute the single weakest link in the security chain for prevention of infant abduction. Accordingly, educating employees on this phenomenon including, history, psychological profile of the abductor, preventive measures, as well as appropriate policies and procedures is essential to the protection of newborns. Additionally, this needs to be repeated for employees and staff on an on-going basis in an effort to reduce the chance an employee will become complacent and less vigilant. Ideally, this should be completed once a year. No employee should be allowed to begin work without having received in-service education and training on infant abduction prevention.

Does Your Facility Need a Security Assessment?

How secure is your healthcare facility? What security measures do you have in place to insure the security of your patients, staff, and visitors? What are you doing to prevent infant abductions and mother/baby mix-ups? How does your hospital manage and address emergency department, pharmacy, OB, and Pediatric security issues? The Answer to these questions may be found in a Security Assessment.

What is the purpose of a Security Assessment?

The purpose of a hospital security assessment is to assist hospitals in the protection of patients, employees, and visitors by identifying organizational strengths and weaknesses in their physical protection and security practices. The security assessment analyzes existing protocols, policies, and procedures, in addition to evaluating physical security vulnerabilities and threats. Findings are analyzed and evaluated and written recommendations are made to control potential threats.

All security management programs should be developed using the security assessment process. A hospital’s program should be designed to teach, implement, monitor, assess, and improve components that are part of the hospital’s existing program. Security is a system concept which requires on-going training, corroboration, monitoring, and swift attention to problems identified. The ultimate success of a security program will depend upon a renewed commitment by a hospital administration to support this important process.

“A Total Security Solution” requires three major elements:

Physical Security

1. Controlled Access to OB, L&D, Nursery, Maternity, & Pediatrics
2. Closed Circuit Television to monitor access & egress
3. Emergency Egresses equipped with a time delay lock & alarm
4. Infant Electronic Alarm System

Protocols, Policies, and Procedures

1. Annual Risk Assessment
2. Primary Care Nurse Assigned
3. Adequate Staffing (all shifts)
4. Infants only Transported by Bassinet (not arm carried)
5. Babies leaving Unit Accompanied by Unit Nurse
6. Only Surnames used in Public Areas
7. Over-Flow babies not placed outside of security area

Staff Identification

1. Photo I.D. Required
2. I.D. Tamper Resistant
3. Photo Background Different
4. I.D. Worn at Chest Level
5. Employees w/o I.D.s Challenged
6. Unique Uniforms
7. Second form of I.D. for Newborns

Infant / Mother / Identification

1. Strict Policy to Place I.D. Bands on Newborns in Labor and Delivery
2. I.D. Band Checked before Infant leaves Unit
3. Complete description of infant and photo in patient records

Education / Training / Staff

1. Policy for Annual Training for all Departments on Infant Security
2. Policy for Annual Training for all OB, L&D, Maternity, Pediatric staff
3. Infant Security covered in New Employee Orientation

Parent Education

1. Parents informed in “Low Key” on Unit Security
2. Mom acknowledges her Responsibility in writing
3. Parents receive written briefing on risks after leaving hospital
4. Parents warned of risk of printed “Birth Announcements”

Visitation

1. Policy for visitation Hours and Passes with expiration date and time
2. I.D. required for vendors (expiration date and time)
3. Visitation to Mother Room Limited

Discharge

1. Cord Blood taken
2. Cord Blood stored at least until discharge

Critical Incident Response Plan

1. Written Plan to Assist in Recovery
2. Address Responsibility for Notification
3. Address internal Responsibility
4. Use of Incident Event Control Log
5. Search Protocol (inside and outside)
6. Establish a “Hotline”
7. Relocate Mother/ Protect Crime Scene
8. Notify other Moms, Family Members, & Staff
9. Recovery / Debriefing / Critique
10. Test for Effectiveness

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 and 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. SAI has written an educational pamphlet – “Infant Security – How Parents Can Help” designed to assist hospitals in educating new mothers and their families, and meet Joint Commission requirements.

IN THE NEWS

‘Code Pink.’ Baby missing. Not a drill.

http://www.saione.com/pdf/aa071505-5.pdf

Security Bracelet Foils Abduction

http://www.saione.com/pdf/aa072105-4.pdf

Area hospital participates in a infant abduction drill as part of multi-disaster planning

http://www.saione.com/pdf/81105-Code_Pink_Drill.pdf

On-line resources

How a Security Assessment Can Make Your Hospital Safer

http://www.saione.com/Hugs_News_Q4_P4_2004.pdf

The Case for Mother / Infant Matching

http://www.xmarksystems.com/pdfs/hugs_news_q2_2004.pdf

Media Interview Q & A with Jeff Aldridge, CPP

http://www.saione.com/mediainterview.htm

Stolen and switched babies: How to Keep you Baby Safe

http://pregnancyandbaby.com/read/articles/5624.htm

Preview:  "Baby Swap" - a NewsPronet Interactive Special Report produced by SweepsFeed

http://www.saione.com/13930-BabySwap.wmv

SAI Infant Abduction Amber Alert

http://www.saione.com/abductionalert.htm

Future Newsletter Topics

Fallacy of Foot Printing – Is Foot printing a "thing of the past?”

Hospital Liability - “An Abduction or Mix-Ups Can Cost a Hospital Millions”

When to hire a Security Expert”

Components of a “Self-Assessment”

How to conduct a successful “Code Pink”

Educating Employees and Staff

“Pros & Cons of an Infant Protection System”

Mother/Baby Mix-Ups - “How to Prevent the Unthinkable”

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 - ©August, 2005