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