Tift Regional Medical Center Puts Patient Security First

Healthcare Leader Sets New Goals 

Tift Regional Medical Center is a 191-bed hospital that serves 12 counties in South Central Georgia. An award-winning medical facility recognized for innovative services and customer satisfaction, the hospital employs 95 physicians, 1500 staff members and 24 security officers. The medical center is poised for growth, with a new intensive care unit under construction. Tift also supports several remote locations that are managed from the main campus, including a second medical campus with doctors’ offices and facilities in adjacent towns. 

With the legacy system beginning to fail, Tift Regional Medical Center saw an opportunity to bring the hospital’s physical security system in line with the organization’s forward-thinking approach. Working closely with system integrator CooperCraft Communications, Tift Regional Medical Center installed a combined solution of Digital Sprite 2 DVRs from Dedicated Micros and the S2 NetBox from S2 Security Corporation (S2). 

Staying Ahead of the Curve

Tift Regional Medical Center security specialist Lieutenant Nicholas DeJohn can’t help but view hospital security from a law enforcement perspective. DeJohn joined the hospital after a successful career as a Connecticut State Police Officer, and never forgets how important speed and agility are when it comes to keeping communities and citizens safe. “Hospitals are no longer sacred areas,” said DeJohn. “We need to be able to secure this facility at a moment’s notice.” DeJohn is particularly concerned about being able to secure the emergency room and nursery. “Everyone should feel secure when coming to our hospital,” he said. 

With an outdated security system, the management and administrative tasks were increasingly time consuming, components were beginning to break down, and it was difficult to replay video and access reports. The system was barely able to fulfill the hospital’s security needs, let alone improve efficiency within the facility. When it came time to review possible replacements, DeJohn knew he wanted a single system that could grow to tie all of the medical center’s facilities together and that would ensure the safety of patients, visitors and staff. It would need to streamline processes and improve monitoring capabilities. Finally, the system had to be capable both of handling a large-scale deployment, and be able to expand as the medical center grew. With a reputation for reliability and a relationship of trust built over time with CooperCraft Communications, Lt. DeJohn looked to them for recommendations on a new system. 

Security Pioneers Working Together

CooperCraft Communications was confident in recommending the combined S2 and Dedicated Micros technology to DeJohn. “This is one of the best IP-based systems we have seen,” said Jerry Cooper, co-founder and CEO of CooperCraft Communications. “We consulted Scott Bryan at Anixter our security and IT distribution partner. He reviewed the project and recommended the S2 solution as a perfect fit for this type of project. We were able to come in with a more cost-effective system and still do everything they wanted us to do. This combination of S2 and Dedicated Micros would be hard to beat.”

"We love to take an end user like Tift Regional Medical Center and an integrator like CooperCraft and bring them an integrated solution,” said Scott Bryan, Regional Security Manager at Anixter. “That is what Anixter does best. We bring best of breed for the application that they have. Anixter has experienced huge success recommending the S2 platform for integrated security projects. The technology and the support are far ahead of what we have seen in traditional brands.” 

Connecting the two systems on the network was a simple procedure done in the software user interface. Though the project’s many components will take several stages to roll out, DeJohn is already seeing the benefits of an IPbased system. 

\For this large-scale deployment, S2 NetBox and Dedicated Micros solution offered the highest level of flexibility, scalability and ease of implementation. Tony Cooper, project manager for CooperCraft, said, “The simple ease of installation and programming of both systems was extremely important in job efficiency. The combined functionality of the S2 and Dedicated Micros technology was easily installed without the need to run new cable or configure special databases. The S2 NetBox integrates with Dedicated Micros’ DVRs over a standard IP network. Events detected by the access control and alarm monitoring systems of the S2 NetBox can initiate video recording; likewise, video motion detection by the recorder can trigger alarms on the S2 NetBox.

With the first stage of installation complete, the Tift Regional Medical Center system currently runs approximately 120 cameras, 10 DVRs— each connected to its own monitor— and access control for 65 doors. DeJohn is so pleased with the Dedicated Micros and S2 combination that he has visited other hospitals to demonstrate the system’s ability to show live video, run reports and unlock doors from remote locations. “This is the system of the future,” said DeJohn. “With an IP-based system, we are four to five years ahead of other hospitals in our ability to monitor and control things. And the S2 NetBox and Dedicated Micros technology work so well together, it actually makes our jobs in security easier.”