Baptist Health Paducah steps up security by investing in a new Hugs and Kisses Baby and Child Security System

A new layer of security to protect its youngest patients in the Maternal Child Care Unit.

(PADUCAH, KENTUCKY, July 8) – Baptist Health Paducah has added a new layer of security to protect its youngest patients in the Maternal Child Care Unit. The hospital recently installed the Hugs® Infant Protection solution from STANLEY Healthcare to safeguard its infants and children from the threat of abduction and mother/infant mismatches.

“Providing excellent patient safety and care is our top priority for the families we serve,” said Lisa Parnell, Baptist Health Paducah Mother-Baby director. “The new Hugs and Kisses Infant Protection system is that extra layer of protection for mom and baby that brings an elevated sense of peace of mind to our families, as well as my staff. It’s a wonderful addition that we’re excited to add to our newly renovated labor and delivery suites, as well as the John & Vivian Williams Mother-Baby unit and our Level III Ray & Kay Eckstein Neonatal Intensive Care unit.”

This security system uses a tiny, wireless Hugs tag attached to the infant’s ankle with a soft band to provide individual protection to each infant. Using the Wi-Fi network, the Hugs solution extends security for infants to every corner of the hospital with multiple layers of protection:

• Tamper detection: The Hugs tag features a tamper detection mechanism, and will send an alarm message if the band securing the tag to the infant is cut or detached.
• Exit protection: Exits, including elevators, are monitored by exit controllers. If an infant is brought near to an open exit, an alarm occurs.
• Continual supervision: The solution monitors each Hugs tag, and will generate an alarm if no messages have been received from the tag for a certain period.
• Out of unit alert: The solution can generate an alert if an infant is detected outside the Obstetrics Unit, but there is no record of a staff member performing a transport.

In addition, the hospital is also implementing the Kisses® component of the Hugs solution to provide automatic mother/infant matching notifications. Each mother is given a small Kisses tag that is bonded with her infant’s Hugs tag at birth. From that point forward, the tags remain bonded throughout their stay. Nurses are immediately alerted of a mismatch with an alarm. This ensures that the mother and her infant stay together and bonded, while in the facility.

Hugs is the market leading solution for protecting infants from the threat of abduction and mother/infant mismatching and protects two million newborns each year across more than 1600 hospitals worldwide.