Security: Infant/Child Abduction

• 9/30/2009
• Author: Kristine Miller
• Category: EC News Blog
• 22825 Views
• 1 Comments
• 

• Last weekend, I was driving down the tollway here in Illinois when I passed the illuminated overhead sign. “WARNING: CHILD ABDUCTION” it flashed in big orange letters. "Watch for late model gold Cadillac, license plate IL 5-8-etc."

  • Child—and infant—abduction strikes a chill to the heart of every parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, family friend, neighbor—pretty much everyone, really. The latest statistics on child abduction, according to the United States Justice Department, reveal that, on average, 2,185 children under the age of 18 were reported missing each day of the study year. That adds up to more than 797,500 children annually.

  What if one of those children had been abducted from your health care facility?

  There are reasons we designate some areas—like pediatrics, labor and delivery, maternity, nursery, neonatal, and even neonatal intensive care units—as "security sensitive."

  There are reasons we run drills for “Code Pink” (or whatever color or code you’ve designated for an actual or attempted infant or child abduction).

  The reasons are as simple as a child’s smile.