NICE to Further Enhance Security at Brooke Army Medical Center

  • Jun 28, 2011
NICE Systems Ltd. recently announced its plans to deploy video analytics and IP-based surveillance at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC), a U.S. Army Hospital and Level 1 Trauma Center at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio, Texas.

Brooke Army Medical Center has used NICE video surveillance solutions since 2001, and is now expanding the deployment to secure new facilities, which include a new seven-story hospital wing and an adjoining 5,000-space multi-level parking garage. BAMC is also renovating an existing facility where NICE video surveillance solutions are already deployed. For those planned expansions and improvements, BAMC is deploying the latest version of NICE’s IP video solution, NiceVision Net 2.0. The deployment will enable BAMC to leverage its existing infrastructure of analog surveillance cameras while migrating to IP video. The NiceVision solution provides smart video capabilities for all “edge” devices, including encoders, access control and cameras. This results in better video surveillance capabilities and a lower overall total cost of ownership (TCO). The NICE solution facilitates more efficient and effective management, maintenance and control of a video surveillance deployment. It can also easily scale to accommodate BAMC’s rapid facility expansion which will include more than 1,600 video surveillance cameras planned for integration with the NICE solution.

One specific need for BAMC is to capture high quality images of vehicles entering its new parking structure along with associated license plates, so BAMC can instantly recall video by license plate numbers or other criteria. To address this need NICE is providing a video surveillance/License Plate Recognition (LPR) solution.

The openness of the NICE IP video solution also gives BAMC better tools to deter and fight crime. The solution integrates smoothly with other systems and allows BAMC to maintain a high level of security across its entire operation. For example, the NICE video system was integrated with an infant protection system, which is now used by the BAMC maternity ward to prevent infant abduction. The integrated solution combines wireless radio frequency technology, RFID bracelets and video surveillance. Any attempt to remove an infant past pre-defined security access points automatically triggers a code pink alarm, simultaneously streaming video from nearby cameras to the BAMC control room. The integrated solution was deployed last December.

The upgrade to the NICE IP video surveillance will also help BAMC achieve higher levels of redundancy to ensure video recordings are not lost or compromised. This is critical because there are daily requests to retrieve video for investigations and court cases, including requests from the Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) office and for incidents involving patients and other matters.

“The security requirements of BAMC are very stringent,” said Yochai Rozenblatt, President and CEO of NICE Americas, NICE. “We’re happy to have been able to play a key role in securing Brooke Army Medical Center for the last decade and look forward to serving the hospital’s future security needs.”

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