Shoplifting Alarms Will Protect Newborns
Hospital officials are hoping to prevent baby kidnappings with electronic alarm bands that circle newborns’ ankles and track their every move.
An alarm will go off at Memorial Hospital Southwest if a baby comes within a certain distance of stairs or an elevator, or if someone tries to remove the band, officials said. A central monitoring system alerts hospital staff of the baby’s whereabouts.
“The technology is the same as what is used at department stores to prevent shoplifting,” said James Eastham, chief executive officer at the hospital. “The elevators will deactivate; doors at exits will lock.”
About 40 other hospitals in the country already use the baby alarm bands. Memorial Hospital Southwest made plans to install the system after last October’s abduction of a newborn girl by a woman posing as a nursing student.