As of Monday, all visitors and patients at Wilson Medical Center in Johnson City, N.Y., are now required to check-in using a new electronic security system.
Visitors must prevent photo identification, which gets scanned into the system and printed onto a visitor badge that they will carry on them while in the hospital, reports Fox 40. If a visitor does not have a photo ID, a desk officer will take their picture for the badge.
“It’s an electronic system that allows us to use identification from visitors to just enter their information into a computer system and let us know who’s in our facility at any given time,” said Gail Thalacker, Vice President of Operations at UHS.
Finding a good visitor management system is especially important for hospitals, who face a multitude of threats to people and property, including physical assaults and the theft of medical supplies, drugs or sensitive patient information.
Thalacker says the new system is a part of the hospital’s revamp on security to increase the safety of patients, visitors and staff. In addition, each UHS hospital will now have one entrance for the public to use when coming and going.
The new system was tested out in the emergency rooms before being installed throughout the entire hospital.
Thalacker added that the check-in point will allow the hospital to give better directions to visitors when they are traveling throughout the hospital.
UHS confirmed that Binghamton General Hospital will also use this system beginning in July.
