MACON, Ga. – The Medical Center of Central Georgia has increased its security measures in response to the February abduction of a baby boy from his mother’s hospital room.
According to a hospital spokesperson, maternity ward visitors are now required to show identification, and patients need to verify they are expecting guests. Additionally, fewer personnel have access to the maternity ward and mothers receive extra security training. The center’s security system software has also been upgraded.
The kidnapping that prompted the improvements occurred on Feb. 6 when a teen who posed as a hospital employee told the infant’s mother there was a problem with the newborn’s photo and that the suspect would take the baby for new pictures.
Soon after the teen left with the baby, an alarm went off, alerting nurses that the newborn had been abducted. A short time later, another alarm indicated the child had been taken from the building.A tip to law enforcement prompted police to go to a house several blocks from the hospital where the suspect and the baby were found. The child was returned to his mother about five hours after his abduction, and the teenager was charged with kidnapping.
The security upgrades that were implemented as a result of this abduction went into effect about a week ago.
