And another way, to add to the list, of how registrant laws and restrictions harm family members.
http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20150920/NEWS/150929969?tc=ar
Halifax Health launches visitor ID system
New safety measure part of security upgrades
A Halifax Health employee demonstrates the hospital's new visitor ID system. Starting today all visitors over age 18 to Halifax Health facilities in Daytona Beach and Port Orange will be required to obtain a visitor badge at a security checkpoint. The hospital says it's making the change to protect employees and visitors. NEWS-JOURNAL/Skyler Swisher
By Skyler Swisher
skyler.swisher@news-jrnl.com
Published: Sunday, September 20, 2015 at 8:56 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, September 20, 2015 at 8:56 p.m.
DAYTONA BEACH — Visitors to Halifax Health will need to have their photo identification scanned and obtain a visitor badge starting Monday.
The new system will allow hospital employees to know who is visiting and why, spokesman John Guthrie said.
"We are really just following the lead of other health care entities when it comes to patient, team member and visitor safety," he said.
Visitors will check in at the 678-bed public hospital system's main campus and behavioral services facility in Daytona Beach and its Port Orange location. Visitors will need to state why they are at the hospital, have their identification scanned and then have a picture taken, which will be printed onto a sticker badge.
Their badge will be good for up to one day. Only visitors 18 and older need to obtain one, Guthrie said.
The process will take less than a minute and the system will screen visitors to see if they are on the sexual offender list, said David Hall, director of education and volunteer services.
"We don't want to build a wall and moat around the hospital," Hall said. "We want to decrease our potential risk."
Sex offenders will be denied access. Sex offenders and those without a photo ID could be granted an exception to visit dying relatives, Hall said.
Decisions to grant exceptions will be made on a case-by-case basis, and sexual offenders would be kept under close supervision, he said.
The equipment and software cost $51,000 and are part of more than $1 million in security upgrades. The hospital system also installed new lighting, added security cameras and reduced the number of public access points to improve security.
The changes came after a January 2014 incident in which armed 20-year-old Jonathan Rodriguez-Jeff blasted his way into Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach about 4 a.m., wandered around for more than 15 minutes and then shot and killed himself in front of a nurse and her patient.
The hospital considered arming its security officers after the incident but opted not to implement the measure at this time, Guthrie said. Hospital officials say armed law enforcement officers are typically on the main campus.
Other health care providers have moved to strengthen security. Several hospitals in Florida, such as Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa and Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, are using similar systems as Halifax Health's. Volusia County Schools unveiled a similar visitor ID system at the beginning of the fall semester.
Florida Hospital's five campuses in Volusia and Flagler counties allow open visitation during the day and have varying degrees of visitor registration at night, spokeswoman Lindsay Rew said.
Bert Fish Medical Center in New Smyrna Beach does not badge visitors, but the hospital is considering its options, spokesman Craig Bair said.
