A Progress Report on the Post-Partum OB Service Excellence Project
New Security Measures Slated for the Connors Center
To better safeguard the many newborns and mothers cared for on the fifth through tenth floors of the Connors Center, enhanced security measures will be phased into current procedures in the coming months. Such measures will bolster patient safety and ensure a safer physical environment for patients and staff at Boston’s busiest birthing center.
Proposed improvements are a result of work from the Infant Security Task Force and serve as a component of the Post-partum OB Service Excellence initiative, both led by Paula Gillette, RN, director of Clinical Services for Women and Newborns at BWH.
“Infant and overall patient security have long been a priority with the Connors Center, but we feel our intended course of action will better protect the families we care for in this patient care setting,” said Gillette. “Security improvements are aligned with our family-centered care model.”
The current set-up of the Connors Center allows for multi-access points to and from the various floors. Moving forward, that access will be limited to the Connors Center main elevators and only staff with ID badges specifically coded for the Connors Center will be permitted to enter through various points.
Taking advantage of the security desk currently located in the Connors Center lobby, all visitors, family members and staff without Connors Center access-coded ID badges will be required to sign-in at the desk. Then, the visitor or staff member will be permitted to use the main elevators to access their specific destination among floors five through ten.
In addition to limited and centralized access to certain floors of the Connors Center, visitors will be more closely monitored, allowing patients and their families as well as staff a more secure and safe environment. To prevent crowded post-partum rooms and added activity and noise in the corridors, visitors will be limited to three at a time.
All changes are anticipated to occur in the spring. Look for more information to be publicized in BWH Nurse on specifics closer to that time.