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BWH’s Infant Security Team is working to improve hospital safety and security for parents and newborns.
“Infant security is given the highest priority at BWH,” Robert Chicarello, director of Security, said. “We use a multilayered approach that includes staff and patient education, systems, barriers, testing and visible security presence.” The May issue of The Hospitalist magazine highlighted Chicarello’s expertise and BWH’s infant security measures in an article detailing how hospitals should prevent infant abduction.
Infant abduction is a national concern, with 119 abductions from healthcare facilities between 1983 and 2006, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. BWH’s multidisciplinary Infant Security committee — which includes Nursing, Risk Management ,Security and administrative staff—meets monthly to plan, test and improve efforts to protect newborns and their families. Ben Drude, training coordinator for Security, conducts hypothetical scenarios that allow staff to practice measures to prevent infant abduction, ensuring they know what to do in an emergency.
“We are trying to get back to the basics of infant security,” Drude said. “We need to ensure all hospital staff and visitors wear proper identification at all times, and that nobody who doesn’t belong in the Connors Center is allowed to enter.”
Nurses, physicians and patient care staff wear pink badges indicating to families and other staff that they care for infants, and security officers monitor and control the Connors Center elevators to grant access to patients and visitors.
Infant bassinets are a key component in the safety and security of infants. The bassinets are used for transporting infants throughoutCWN-5 to CWN-10 and to other locations in the hospital. The bassinets should never be left unattended. All staff are reminded to return bassinets to the Connors Center upon completion of infant transport. Unattended bassinets may lead to a Code Pink. Any staff member who sees an unattended bassinet should call Security at ext. 2-6565.