How hospitals can prevent baby thefts

[SoCalDem]

Without fanfare, perhaps they should start sticking one of these on the baby's bottom....wrist and ankle bands can and are cut off, but how many baby stealers would take the diaper off? they are usually in a pretty big hurry, and these anti-theft stickers would sound when they tried to leave the hospital

I know that babies have sensitive skin, but I would risk a rash to know that a potential abductor might be caught if they tied to take the baby :)

[fortyfeetunder]

1. Another suggestion...microchip

I know folks will scream about this but a chip in the baby's bun may be a deterrent.

[shain from kane]

2. Tattoo bottoms with Universal Product Code?

[htuttle]

3. Couldn't they just attach one of those plastic anti-shoplifter tags?

You know, like they use at the Gap.

[SoCalDem]

5. That's what the stickers are...they have an anti-theft gizmo embedded in them

they are small, and the adhesive is pretty strong..

[ironflange]

4. Use this

Blue for boys, pink for girls.

[TheFriendlyAnarchist]

10. This guy has the right idea!

+1 :thumbsup:

[Bitwit1234]

6. Since they usually pose as hospital workers

Couldn't a simple iris scan not let them have access to the nursey. The babies are kept in the nursey. Have only those nurses who are allowed in have the iris scan and then they wouldn't be able to enter.

[rainbow4321]

12. Baby was taken from mom's room, not the nursery

Our hospital's nursery is locked..only way to get in is with a badge. Even then, it's a small enough nursery where if you were not meant to be there, we would notice you.
Even parents are not allowed in the nursery. We bring the baby to the door for them, check their band id number against the baby and only then does the baby get released from the nursery.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/031107dntswbabykidnap.dbe0f3.html

The abductor went into the mother's room several times before the baby was taken, said Gwen Stafford, senior vice president of Covenant Health System. The woman told the mother the baby needed treatment, Stafford said.

"I think there was more than one attempt," Stafford said. "I'm trying to verify if it was two or three times."

Hudgens said the mother alerted someone that her baby was gone within about 15 minutes.

At a news conference later Stafford said it was "unclear" whether the kidnapper was wearing a name badge. "I don't think that our staff had ever seen her," she said.

[blitzburgh55]

7. There is a product in use for this

One out of two hospitals chooses the HALO® system or Hugs® system to protect their infants. With hundreds of installations in North America, we have the knowledge and experience to help you find the infant protection solution that’s right for your facility.

The HALO system is the leading system based on skin-sensing technology, and offers you a range of options to expand the functionality of your system, such as emergency response.
Learn more about HALO.

The Hugs system delivers proven protection based on cut-band technology, with a wealth of automated features to make your job as easy as possible.
To learn more about Hugs.

[rainbow4321]

8. Our hospital already has something like that

It's a small, hard sqaure plastic device that we slip an ID ban thru and then the ID ban gets put on the infants angle. Certainly not fool proof, though, the id ban can be cut off...and if it is put on too loose, it also slips right off the ankle/foot.
A floor-wide alarm sounds if a baby is pushed past an open elevator/door while he/she has on the plastic device.
We've had more than our fair share of false alarms when these things slip off the baby and get mixed into the laundry..the laundry goes past an open elevator and, bam, the floor alarm goes off. Causes a hospital shut down til a baby head count is done and we find out what the hell happened.
The best defense against babynapping are humans. Parents are told to only release their baby to a worker with a certain color badge (call the nursery if you suspect something funny about the worker coming to get your baby), don't go to sleep while their babies are in the room, keep the baby away from the room door (make sure the parent's bed is between the room door and the baby's hospital crib). I always tell parents that if they even have to go use the bathroom in thir room, call a nurse to come watch the baby or just send the baby back til they are done.


on edit:
The hospital says that they did have some sort of device..but like I said, these things can be taken/cut off in a heartbeat.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/031107dntswbabykidnap.dbe0f3.html

The newborn was wearing a monitoring device but it was not clear if the device included a global positioning system beacon.

"We have a very good and sophisticated security" system, she added.

Later she declined to comment on what sort of system is used with newborns.

"I don't want to compromise the security system," Stafford said.

[RB TexLa]

9. Is baby theft a big problem?

Have I missed an ongoing crisis?

[rainbow4321]

13. This is the second hospital/baby abduction in Lubbock in less then 1 yr

As far as the "crisis"..one stolen baby is one too many.

[RB TexLa]

14. OK, I hadn't heard of them

[upi402]

11. use this