INFANT ABDUCTION PLAN
“Code PINK”
DEFINITION:An Infant, inpatient or visitor, has been abducted from the facility.
MITIGATION / PREPARATION
· Staff Education
· Access Control Systems
· Staff Identification Procedures
· Parent / Guardian Education
· Established Relationship with External Agencies / · Hospital Incident Command System (HICS)
· Response Plan
· Staff Education / Drills
· Closed Circuit Television
· Communication Systems
· Hazard Vulnerability Analysis
· Security Risk Assessment
· Tracer Activity
RESPONSE / RECOVERY
· HICS Activation
· Staff Activation
· Emergency Code Announcement
· Communication Systems
· External Agency Activation / · After Action Report / Review
· Maintain HICS
· Risk Management Follow-up
· Continued Support for Parents
· Public Relations Follow-up
A “Code Pink” means that an infant has been abducted from the hospital, either from his/her mother’s room or from the nursery.
Patient Care Services personnel
(2T/5T Staff)
q If you suspect an infant is missing, or if a parent tells you that an infant is missing, immediately notify the charge nurse and the Switchboard.
q Call Emergency Operator at 3333 and notify the operator of a “Code Pink.”
q Protect the crime scene where the abduction may have occurred. Do not touch or remove anything!
q All personnel on duty when the abduction occurred will remain on the unit until the authorities complete the investigation and release you. All personnel are to refrain from discussing the incident with anyone other than the authorities.
Charge Nurse
(2T/5T)
q If possible, allow no one to enter or leave the unit until Security arrives.
q Instruct the staff to look for the infant and to conduct a head count of all infants.
q If the infant cannot be found, call law enforcement at 911. (The Emergency Operator should have already also been called, and they should notify Security.)
q If the infant cannot be found, notify the Nurse Manager, Nursing Administrative Supervisor (if at night), Service Line Executive Director, and Chief Nursing Officer.
q Once the abduction has been confirmed, coordinate with the Nurse Manager/Executive Director of the unit and attending physician to talk to the parents.
q Notify Admitting Office to initiate “NO INFORMATION” status for this patient.
General Employees
q Upon hearing a “Code Pink” announcement, proceed to the nearest entrance/exit or stairwell and secure the area. Stop all individual attempting to leave the facility. Inform them:
“The hospital is under an alert and all persons are requested to remain in the hospital until the alert is clear”
q Do not use force to stop the person from leaving the hospital.
q Call Security immediately if anyone refuses to remain during the alert or you notice any suspicious activity. Provide a description of clothing, gender, skin color, physical size..
q Balance your safety with the safety of the infant, and, if you feel threatened, step aside. Have another employee notify Security and follow the individual, if safe to do so, at a distance, noting the potential abductor’s description and direction of travel. If the potential abductor enters a car, note the color, model, make, general condition, and license plate of the vehicle.
q Do not speak to the media. Refer all media to the Public Information Officer (PIO).
q All employees should remain at their designated areas and secure their areas until Communications issues an “all clear
OTHER DEPARTMENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES
(In alphabetical order)
Administrator on Call (Incident commander)
q Activate the Hospital Command Center (HCC).
q The following information should be available to the Police:
· Name, description and photo (if available) of the infant abducted
· Description (if known) of abductor
· Names of parents
· All known information about the abduction
· Time of disappearance
· Suspicious person(s)
· Names and addresses of any witnesses
· List of staff on duty
q Incident Commander will handle or delegate all legal and patient confidentiality issues related to the situation.
q Make a decision in regards to the securing the facility and suspending visiting hours.
q In conjunction with the police, notify of the FBI and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (800-843-5678).
q Appoint a liaison to support and communicate with the parent(s) of the abducted infant.
Communications
q Upon being alerted of a Code Pink, sound the emergency tone and state, “Your attention please, Code Pink, Code Pink.”
Immediate Notifications / #Public Safety / 911
Security Department / 66333
Administrator on Call / Switchboard
Nursing Admin Supervisor / Pager: 71-1153
Security Officer / Cell: 809-9299
Media Pager / Pager: 253-7561
Emergency Manager / Cell: 809-9546
Risk Management / Cell: 809-6221
Chief Nursing Officer / Cell: 706-7541
Patient Safety Officer / Cell:809-8349
Maternal/Child Executive Director / Cell: 706-5643
Director of Safety / Cell: 809-8372 & 809-7236
q When notified by Security, Safety, or the Admin. on Call/NAS that the incident is over, overhead page, “Your attention, Code Pink, all clear, Code Pink, all clear.”
Chaplain on Duty
q Report to the scene of the abduction and provide support to the other patients (families) on the unit.
q Communicate accurate and honest information with the other parents on the events taking place. Reassure them of the actions being taken.
Public Information Officer/Public Relations Department
q Immediately establish appropriate media contacts to assist in the return of the infant.
q Provide media with the facts as accurately as possible. Ask for assistance of the public in recovering the infant; possibly arrange to have family appear on television. Release only information approved by Law Enforcement and Incident Commander.
q Prepare for Communications Department a written response they may use when contacted.
Risk Management
q Respond to the Hospital Command Center (HCC) and initiate the process of information collection.
q Conduct an incident debriefing session following the event to insure complete and comprehensive data relating to the incident has been recorded.
q Assist the Incident Commander with legal issues.
Security
q Notify all Officers.
q Assume control of the crime scene from the Nursing Personnel.
q Secure all exits and stop the flow of traffic out of the unit.
q Institute a search of the entire hospital, interior and exterior, using personnel from other departments to assist in the search.
q Search the immediate area, with emphasis on stairwells, restrooms, and other public access areas.
q Assign personnel to check all public transportation stops, sidewalks, and adjacent areas.
q Assign personnel to check the crosswalks, Tower Circle, parking deck, and parking areas.
q Identify any witnesses and escort them to an area designated by the Emergency Operation Center for questioning by the Police.
q Brief Incident Commander (AOC) and Public Information Officer of any changes/updates.
q Assign a Security Officer to meet the arriving police and escort them to the Emergency Operation Center or Security.
q Work with the public safety upon their arrival. Overall control of the infant abduction situation is the responsibility of the Public Safety Incident Commander (senior ranking official on the scene), in accordance with established Spartanburg Public Safety policies.
q Notify other area hospitals and outpatient clinics within the upstate to be on alert and provide a complete description of infant and abductor, if available.
q If description of infant and abductor is available, notify train stations, bus stations, and airports within the area to be on alert.
Origination Date: January 1997
Revised: May 25, 2000; August 7, 2000; March 20, 2001; February 4, 2003, February 17, 2006, December 5, 2007, July 14, 2009
Reviewed: July 2004, July 2005, December 2008, September 2009
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