A Lifeline to Protection

Symmetry provides FBI with video of suspicious visitors

• By Kim Rahfaldt
• May 01, 2008

Newton Memorial Hospital opened its doors in 1932 with 40 acute care beds and 10 bassinets to provide healthcare to Sussex County, N.J. After acquiring 10 acres of land adjacent to the original parcel in 1961, NMH constructed a wing to house a new radiology department, clinical and pathology laboratories, an emergency room, an intensive and coronary care unit and a 20-bed general medical surgical unit. This expansion increased the hospital’s bed count to 148.

Six more expansion projects over the next 35 years have made NMH a state-of-the-art medical center providing inpatient and outpatient healthcare services to residents of Sussex and the surrounding counties. More than 150 physicians and 900 employees—volunteers and support staff—commit their time to meeting the needs of these regions.

Growing Demands
Located in one of the fastest growing counties in New Jersey, NMH’s stand-alone access control system failed to handle the demands of the hospital. NMH was always a security-conscious hospital, but after Sept. 11, 2001, things changed. The budget was approved for NMH to install a complete security management system with digital video.

Advanced Video Surveillance recommended NMH install AMAG Technology’s Symmetry Professional security management system, including Symmetry video. The technology satisfied the need for future growth and backward compatibility.

Being able to watch activity throughout the hospital and control access were the two main goals of NMH. Installing Symmetry Video Management along with Pelco’s PTZ cameras provided eyes throughout the hospital. An edge network video server used NMH’s network and allowed the hospital to store video locally and schedule forwarding to a storage server at an optimum time.

“NMH loves that the Symmetry ENVS doesn’t tie up their network,” said Mike Riotto of Advanced Video Surveillance. “They download in the middle of the night to avoid busier times on the network. The Symmetry ENVS is more practical and less intrusive. That’s important because the hospital never closes, so workers spend less time in public areas.”

The hospital’s security staff works from two locations: the security office and the recently remodeled emergency department, where monitors are located. A monitor also is located at the emergency desk. The secretary watches the doors, where there is a camera and intercom installed.

“Security has always assisted in the emergency department,” said Joe Zweig, director of environmental services, safety and transport. “We’ve had on many occasions uncooperative people come into the emergency department, and so we always keep a security officer posted in that area.”

NMH requires all staff to wear badges identifying they are employees of the hospital. The Symmetry Security Management System allows Zweig to assign each person an access level that allows each employee into their designated area. The badge allows NMH to control all exterior and interior doors to the hospital.

The badging solution works in accordance with the hospital’s emergency plan. In a terrorist situation or large domestic occurrence, one card can lock all doors at once using a conditional card to secure the hospital.

“We use scheduled locking and unlocking for our external doors,” Zweig said. “And our emergency department is locked at all times—even the ambulance entrance. The paramedics call ahead to let the emergency department know they are on the way so the security officers in that unit can unlock the door. If something were to happen, we don’t want to have an uncontrolled rush into the emergency department.”

Securing Sensitive Areas
Many internal doors are secured with proximity readers, providing more control over who enters sensitive areas.

NMH takes advantage of the special reports feature of the Symmetry Security Management System. A camera and card and PIN reader monitor who has accessed the hospital pharmacy, and the pharmacy director reviews a daily report, which has assisted with inventory management issues. NMH also uses the tracking tool to monitor its medicine and medical records rooms.

The psychiatric ward upgraded from a punch code reader to a proximity reader to eliminate random entering. Employees now must present their card to enter and exit the ward. The upgrade also stopped employees from yelling out codes and overseeing codes being entered. Now, doors can be locked down with a conditional card during emergencies.

The ceiling is secured using a DMP alarm panel fully integrated into the system. This eliminates the ceiling as a route for escape or hiding of contraband. Using one card for several functions was a major requirement of the security upgrade, to include time and attendance with a magstripe, pharmacy machines using a bar code and security using proximity technology for access.

Preventing Possible Attacks
The Symmetry SMS proved priceless when several suspicious men claiming to be doctors entered the emergency department after business hours. The men requested a tour and asked a lot of questions about the hospital. They claimed to be interested in working there. NMH security staff members told them to come back that following Monday during normal business hours to schedule an appointment.

When the men never returned, this raised a red flag. Symmetry Video had recorded the event. When police requested a DVD copy of the men entering the hospital, security called up the event on the Symmetry Video system, burned the DVD and provided it to the FBI.

A Perfect Fit
Advanced Video Surveillance is a high-end security systems design and integration company that services highprofile clients throughout the New York and New Jersey area. The company’s experience with AMAG and understanding of the intricacies involved in installing a comprehensive security management solution in a hospital environment made it the perfect choice for NMH. Working with the different departments was challenging because the hospital is always open and patients are always there. Advanced Video Surveillance was able to meet the needs of the hospital and install the system quickly