HEALTHCARE SECURITY SOLUTIONS

Healthcare security systems in Chicago involve the tech tools such as access control systems, video surveillance systems, visitor management systems, mass emergency notification systems that provide a unified solution with cutting edge technologies for increased security and safe mobility within the healthcare facility. 

Healthcare security systems work on a simple concept of securing the entry points in the facility. These entry points are secured with access control systems that have a reader mounted on the front door of the facility. When the user scans the credentials in the reader, it signals the access control panel via sensor technology or wired connection. The access control panel is the main part of the system at the backend, installed in the most secure place in the facility that controls all the components of the system. Surveillance cameras are installed indoors and outdoor in the facility in the right position that can capture the desired view. Motion sensors, intruder detectors, facial recognition, touchless technologies make the security system robust, safe and flexible for easy scan and increased security. Moreover, integration with mass emergency notifications systems sounds the alarm when a security zone is breached and communicates with the right individual or group in the facility.

Functions of the components that build up the healthcare security systems are as follows:

Access control systems grants access only to authorized people in the facility. This is tremendously important because it keeps unauthorized people away, ensures the safety of sensitive information, protects staff and patients, strictly controls the healthcare equipment and controlled substances and more.

Video Surveillance systems record live footage using powerful and advanced security cameras capable of capturing most of the views in the facility. Monitoring the videos helps to reduce incidents of abuse or neglect, protect against theft, dishonest employees, and vandalism.

Mass Emergency Notification Systems in a Chicagoland healthcare setting has a lot of benefits. The system not only communicates routine messages for events such as inventory counts but also alerts staff, patients and visitors during emergency situations.

Visitor Management Systems streamlines the visitor’s access and sign-in process in the healthcare facility.

For more information to help your Chicago area facility, Please listen to the podcast on “Healthcare Security Systems” hosted by Thomas Carnevale, Founder of Umbrella Security Systems with our Guest, Myron Love – CHPA, CPP, PSP, PCI is the Director of Security Services for Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

There are some issues that most hospital security personnel in the Chicago area must turn their attention to. Is your security team prepared for these challenges?

• Delivering a fully functioning hospital environment centered around overall care and well-being, including feeling protected from outside threats.
• Finding access control systems for healthcare that restrict access to areas without obstructing care in urgent situations.
• Balancing budgetary limitations without sacrificing high-functioning healthcare security systems.
• Installing healthcare security cameras in strategic locations, such as entrances of hallway bathrooms, emergency room entrances, employee entryways, parking lots, and garages.
• Protecting IT infrastructure to ensure the protection of electronic patient data.
• Securing and monitoring areas that contain pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, and other valuable hospital resources.
• Combining physical security strategies with cybersecurity approaches for the maximum protection of hospital assets.
• Developing a relationship with a security firm for regular follow-up and interaction that tests for issues and encourages future scalability.

Restricting access to unauthorized persons is critical to stop spreading germs, preventing theft of healthcare equipment and medicines, and safeguard all the people in the facility. 

Healthcare facilities in Illinois have various ways that they can manage access, such as creating access credentials based on an individual’s role in the facility or on category-specific rules. Assigning access levels based on specific functions or regulations is essential for Healthcare facilities. For example, visitors can only access their patient wards, cafeteria, restrooms, and public areas. Being able to control visitor access based on time and date is also important.

The primary costs associated with access control are labor and installation. However, with simple component changes, your Chicago area existing system can become ready for any environment and be better prepared in the new world for stopping the spread of diseases like covid-19. Contactless Technologies enables safer workplace and provides confidence to businesses planning to reopen post covid.

You will not have to go through the tedious process of re-installing new systems. Upgrading to touchless will require minor and cost-effective changes to the existing access control systems.

You can rewire the card readers and door controllers to accept facial recognition with new components. These components will merely capture the employee’s facial features and send these back to the existing database for verification. You will only have to upgrade the touchpoints to offer contactless means of verification. The cost associated with such changes is worth it and will not take a toll on your budget.

Identity & Visitor Management

Healthcare facilities in Illinois face unique security challenges. Hospitals experience a massive volume of visitors throughout their facilities. Some of them have specific visiting times, while some have extended hours of visitation. Managing access at multiple entry points for visitors is crucial. 

The types of visitors in Chicagoland healthcare facilities vary from vendors, delivery personnel, medical representatives to patient visitors. A complete operational security plan must be implemented to screen visitors and work with a visitor management system, access control, video surveillance, and mass notification systems.

Modern visitor management systems are designed with customizable solutions that can integrate with access control, video surveillance, and more. This complete visitor system helps with the following:

• Fast check-in: Visitors can quickly check-in at a facility entrance to receive a Personal ID credential that allows visitor-specific access throughout a facility. 
• Setting Visitor Limitations: Based on your facility’s needs, restrictions can be set for the visitors. Patients wards like the ICU should have a higher level of security to restrict unexpected visitors.
• Deny Access:  Deny access alerts can be set for attempted unauthorized access to a restricted area. This helps notify the building security about the facility’s unauthorized access attempt so that it can be promptly addressed.

Intrusion Detection

Intrusion detection sensors are installed indoors or windows of your facility to detect when an unauthorized person enters your facility so that security protocols can be triggered. These sensors include glass break, motion sensor, door/window sensor, perimeter protection, multi-area arming. 

• Motion Detection: These sensors detect the slightest movement either inside or outside the facility from a few inches of the door/ window. Once the sensor detects such motion, video surveillance systems are triggered to record the event and time stamp the video and store it in logs.
• Perimeter protection: The instruction detection system with perimeter begins at an entry point of the facility or gate or parking lot or combination of the above.
• Glass-break detection: These sensors alarms if an intruder breaks the glass and gains entry to the facility.
• Multi-area arming: This helps in arming specific floors or areas of the facility and are ideal for limited access areas or after-hours protection

Video Surveillance & Security Cameras

In Chicago area healthcare facilities, video surveillance systems are effective and an essential security tool to protect people and assets. There are several benefits of video surveillance & security cameras for healthcare facilities:

• Prevent Crime: To prevent crimes and break-ins by deterring potential threats with obvious monitoring.
• Prevent dishonest claims: Visitors or patients may make false claims, but with video surveillance, such claims can be refuted and disproven. Disputes can be resolved with video recordings as proof of the hospital’s incident.
• Real-time monitoring: The IP video surveillance system helps capture real-time videos to continuously monitor critical areas of the facility.
• Digital and cloud storage: Storing security footage in the cloud helps authorized security professionals to access video recordings anywhere and at any time.

Alarms & Mass Notifications

An emergency mass notification system is necessary for Illinois healthcare facilities to quickly alert doctors, staff, patients, visitors, emergency services, and affected communities. Segmenting the people in the facilities helps to alert the right people at the right time. These systems can also be used to provide information and support resources after an incident, such as contract tracing for COVID-19. Healthcare mass notification systems have to be compliant with state and federal regulations.

Fire & Air Detection Systems

Air, light, and sound detection sensors can detect gunshots, vaping, blind areas, harmful airborne contaminants, and more. These sensor systems help healthcare facilities by increasing safety and protection. It can monitor for airborne hazardous substances while reducing smoking and vaping in unauthorized areas. Gunshots and glass break detection throughout the hospital protects against criminal activity.

Regular Security Auditing & Evaluation

Regular security audits must be conducted to detect unauthorized access to patient information and reduce the risk of future inappropriate access. It is important to conduct a thorough forensic investigation on suspicious attempts made to access the facility or security breaches to patient privacy, detecting new threats, or intrusion attempts.

Hospital Security Risk Assessments

There are various security assessment tools designed to identify risks and proactively reduce future threats. These tools allow the healthcare organization to take the necessary steps to prevent possible threats.

Staff Response & Reaction

Some of the security staff complain about restrictions in performing their activities. When they arrive at the spot to resolve the issues, they face various dissatisfactory comments from other staff like nurses or generals staff in the facility. Nurses and others might think that patients’ care is the only priority but one must never take security concerns lightly. Cooperation and responsibility of each individual play an important role to de-escalate the situation and come back to normal at the earliest.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a law that protects sensitive patient’s health information. Data security in healthcare facilities is a core element of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. HIPAA has implemented appropriate administrative, physical, and technical processes to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronically protected healthcare data.

HIPAA audits should be run and evaluated to ensure that healthcare organizations are compliant with HIPAA privacy and security rules and breach notification standards. Legal steps must be taken if individual policies go against the healthcare organization.

Safety Procedures

The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) establishes national standards for protecting sensitive health information with the HIPAA. Prior to HIPAA, there were minimal security standards for protecting healthcare information in the facility. With the rise in new technologies, the healthcare industry began shifting from papers to electronic information systems to pay claims, answer eligibility questions, provide healthcare information, and conduct clinically based functions. 

Staff Education & Training

Training and education are critical for enforcing safe and secure procedures. Educating the staff on proper handling of access, security systems, and authorized areas is crucial to a secure facility. Hospital staff is trained using drills in off-hours and business hours so that they can handle the situation at any time within the facility. These training not only protects against emergency situations but also violence activities like active shooting, infant abductions, etc.

Restricting Access to Controlled Substances

Only authorized people should have access to controlled substances. These substances must be stored in restricted areas of the facility, such as in locked closets within locked rooms. An access control system can be mounted on restricted area doors to prevent unauthorized access to the controlled site.

Not too long ago, high-quality healthcare security cameras and security monitoring teams were sufficient to protect hospitals and healthcare facilities. But the challenges have changed in today’s globally-connected and chaotic environment. As a result, Chicago area healthcare security must continue to evolve to be a step ahead of threats.

Our hospital security team at Umbrella Security Systems has been hard at work listening to healthcare security personnel’s needs and developing multifaceted solutions for Chicagoland that get the job done. Here is what we have developed and offer to protect your hospital:

• A security consulting and system integration strategy.
• Cutting-edge video surveillance systems, designed for future scalability, performance, and functionality in a variety of environments and lighting situations.
• Access control and mass notification solutions, specially designed for your healthcare facility.
• Network solutions that adapt to the evolving threats on cybersecurity.
• A complete system that scales and grows with your healthcare organization.