2 infant abductions show strengths of security systems, but also process failure
2 infant abductions show strengths of security systems, but also process failure
One stopped by alarm system — Band already removed in other case
Infant abduction is a constant threat to hospitals with obstetrics units, and many facilities have implemented sophisticated technology in recent years to lower that risk. The strengths of the technology were illustrated in one recent abduction, but another revealed a process failure that allowed a baby to be taken for five hours.
Both infants were recovered, and in one case the hospital reports that the alarm system designed to prevent the unauthorized exit with a baby worked perfectly. In the other, Healthcare Risk Management has learned that the mother and infant had been discharged and the monitor tag removed, but the family did not leave the unit immediately. In the short time they remained, the baby was kidnapped.
In the first case, the Garden Grove Police Department in Florida reports that 48-year-old Grisel Ramirez wore hospital scrubs and a visitor pass when she entered the room of a mother and her newborn baby girl at Garden Grove Medical Center. Posing as an employee, Ramirez suggested the mother take a shower and she would watch the baby, police say. While the mother was in the shower, Ramirez is reported to have put the baby in a large tote bag and left the fifth floor room.
Ramirez was about to leave the unit when an electronic monitor on the infant’s right ankle sounded an alarm that alerted staff members, says Garden Grove Police Lt. Jeff Nightengale. A nurse and other staff members questioned Ramirez and discovered the infant in the bag, he says.
Ramirez was arrested and charged with suspicion of kidnapping. There is no relationship with between the accused and the mother, Nightengale says. As in many past infant abduction cases, Ramirez had told her husband and others that she was pregnant with a girl, he says.
Authorities believe Ramirez is the same woman who was reported approaching several expectant mothers at Western Medical Center — Anaheim and asking questions about when they were due and the sex of their babies. Staff at the hospital also reported a woman calling several times to ask about the status of expectant mothers.
The ankle sensor worked exactly as designed, according to Sofia Abrina, RN, MBA, chief nursing officer and administrator at Garden Grove Hospital Medical Center. Abrina spoke at a news conference after the incident to explain that the hospital applies the security band to the infant’s ankle as soon as it is born. The sensor triggers an alarm if it is tampered with and if it comes close to a unit door.
The alarm activates the hospital’s Code Pink protocol, which alerts staff to block doors and prevent anyone from passing through without first being checked for the missing infant, Abrina explained. The hospital also conducts regular Code Pink drills. (See the story on p. 112 for more on Code Pink protocols.)
The hospital official did not indicate how Ramirez obtained a visitor badge, and Abrina confirmed that before the kidnapping, a hospital employee questioned Ramirez in another area of the hospital because she seemed to be in the wrong place. (See the story on p. 111 for more on limiting access by visitors.)
Sensor removed during discharge
In the other recent incident, police and media reports initially indicated that an infant’s sensor tag had been cut off, somehow without causing the sensor to trigger the alarm and allowing the baby to be taken from the unit. Healthcare Risk Management has learned, however, that the alarm system’s monitor had been removed from the infant during the discharge process.
That information was discovered in the investigation by John Rabun, ASCW, director of infant abduction response for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in Alexandria, VA. He spent 28 years as executive vice president and CEO of NCMEC before semi-retiring in February 2012. (See the story on p. 111 for data on the frequency of infant abductions.)
Nineteen-year-old Breona Moore first paid $16.19 for scrubs with a hospital logo at a store across the street from Magee-Women’s Hospital, and she claimed a 10% discount as a hospital employee, Rabun says. Moore then posed as a nurse to take a three-day-old infant from the mother, he says.
Though discharged, the family had not yet left the unit. During that time, Moore is reported to have told the mother she needed to take the baby for one last exam. She left the unit and the hospital without being stopped, according to police.
The baby was missing for five hours before police found Moore hiding in a stairwell in a nearby building, police report. She was charged with kidnapping.
The technology worked as intended in both cases, says Cathy Nahirny, senior analyst for infant abduction cases at the NCMEC. “This was not a technology failure in Pittsburgh, and the California case shows how important it is to have a protocol for responding to the alarms. When the alarm sounded there, the staff knew what to do and stopped the kidnapper trying to leave with the baby,” Nahirny says. “There was no alarm in Pittsburgh because the tag had been removed, so the staff had no notice of a problem.”
Nahirny does note, however, that the kidnapper was not a familiar face in the unit and did not have a staff identification badge. There was a missed opportunity to spot her and realize she did not belong on the unit, Nahirny says. The mother also did not protest the woman’s lack of proper identification, she says.
Sources
• Cathy Nahirny, Senior Analyst, Infant Abduction Cases, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Alexandria, VA. Telephone: (703) 837-6243. Email: [email protected].
• John Rabun, ASCW, Director of Infant Abduction Response, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Alexandria, VA. Telephone: (703) 437-8218. Email: [email protected].
• Dan Yaross, Director of Security, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH. Telephone: (614) 355-0495. Email: daniel.[email protected].
Infant abduction is a constant threat to hospitals with obstetrics units, and many facilities have implemented sophisticated technology in recent years to lower that risk. The strengths of the technology were illustrated in one recent abduction, but another revealed a process failure that allowed a baby to be taken for five hours.Subscribe Now for Access
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