Schlage Recognition Systems Biometric HandReaders Secure 3,500 Employee North Carolina Hospital
HandKey Terminals Ensure Only Authorized Personnel Enter Sensitive Areas throughout Rex Hospital, including Birth Center
October 7, 2003
Schlage Recognition Systems Biometric HandReaders Secure 3,500 Employee North Carolina Hospital
HandKey Terminals Ensure Only Authorized Personnel Enter Sensitive Areas throughout Rex Hospital, including Birth Center
CAMPBELL, CALIF. – October 7, 2003 – Schlage Recognition Systems, the biometric Access Control component of Ingersoll Rand’s Security Technologies Electronic Control Systems, today announced that non-profit Rex Healthcare of North Carolina is using 39 HandKey terminals, along with its HandNet software, to heighten security for patients and 3,500 employees at its 61-acre main hospital campus.
"We wanted a higher level of security than a badging system or PIN code alone could offer. After much research, we tested and then chose the biometric HandReaders," says Chris Main, Rex Healthcare Director of Protective Services. "We started using the Schlage Recognition Systems HandKey readers about six years ago in the birth center, where there was a perceived need for a higher level of security. The hand scanners are very accurate. No unauthorized person has ever gotten past one."
The HandKey hand readers automatically take a three-dimensional reading of the size and shape of a person's hand and verify their identity in less than one second. At the hospital, users enter a PIN code that they select and place their hand on the reader. The system quickly verifies if the hand presented matches the one associated with the PIN, and if so, permits access.
"Using cards and PIN codes together creates too many problems," Main explains. "Physicians do not like to carry badges. They lose or forget them. With the HandReader, all they need to remember is a PIN code that they choose."
Since the successful installation of the HandKey readers at the birth center, which facilitated nearly 5,000 births last year, Main has overseen installation of a total of 39 terminals throughout the hospital campus, which includes a 394-bed acute-care facility, a cancer center, a convalescent care center and an outpatient surgery center. Main is also considering placing one at the employee entrance.
HandKey terminals are now used in the birth center, IT data center, other major IT areas, the operating rooms and the emergency department.
"I believe the HandReaders have made hospital personnel even more security and safety conscious, and this, in turn, attracts more birth patients,” Main reports. “Operationally, they also take a level of concern off of employees so they can focus more on their jobs. Security does not have to be foremost on employees' minds all of the time as the HandReaders take care of that."
According to Main, the HandReaders integrate well with existing systems, cost less than alternative biometric methods, and offer greater convenience and security than badging systems. They are also extremely reliable and durable.
Rex Hospital recently installed Schlage Recognition System's HandNet for Windows software to manage the 39 HandKey terminals. Main recommends using the HandNet network solution for installations with more than four or five readers. "It makes everything much easier, including adding new readers and programming," Main reports.
HandNet provides Rex Hospital networked access control that's easy to install, simple to use, effortless to administer, and affordable. It offers complete door monitoring in real time for multiple sites. Remote sites can be monitored via modem or Ethernet. Every HandKey unit has a built-in door controller, so Rex Hospital could create an access control network by simply attaching a PC. New HandKey terminals can easily be added to the network.
With such a large number of employees, HandNet is invaluable for quickly reprogramming HandKey terminals to lock out former hospital employees and to add new ones. "I can also add an employee to just one reader if access must be restricted in some way," Main says.
About Rex Healthcare
Rex Healthcare is a private, not-for-profit health care system that has provided superior care to Wake County in North Carolina and the surrounding area since 1894. The Rex Healthcare hospital campus is the heart of the network of services. The hospital has over 900 physicians on staff and admitted nearly 27,000 patients in 2002.
About Schlage Recognition Systems
With over 80,000 hand geometry units throughout the world reading millions of hands each day, Schlage Recognition Systems, founded in 1986, is the pioneer of hand recognition technology used in access control and identification applications. The company is the world sales leader of biometric verification devices and serves an international clientele from its headquarters in Campbell, Calif. Its website is www.handreader.com. Phone is 408-341-4100. Schlage Recognition Systems is the biometric Access Control component of Ingersoll Rand’s Security Technologies Electronic Control Systems. The Ingersoll Rand website is www.irco.com.
-30-
For more information…
Bill Spence Tom Brigham
IR RECOGNITION SYSTEMS BRIGHAM SCULLY
408-341-4100 818-716-9021
bill_spence@irco.com tbrigham@brighamscully.com
HandKey Terminals Ensure Only Authorized Personnel Enter Sensitive Areas throughout Rex Hospital, including Birth Center
CAMPBELL, CALIF. – October 7, 2003 – Schlage Recognition Systems, the biometric Access Control component of Ingersoll Rand’s Security Technologies Electronic Control Systems, today announced that non-profit Rex Healthcare of North Carolina is using 39 HandKey terminals, along with its HandNet software, to heighten security for patients and 3,500 employees at its 61-acre main hospital campus.
"We wanted a higher level of security than a badging system or PIN code alone could offer. After much research, we tested and then chose the biometric HandReaders," says Chris Main, Rex Healthcare Director of Protective Services. "We started using the Schlage Recognition Systems HandKey readers about six years ago in the birth center, where there was a perceived need for a higher level of security. The hand scanners are very accurate. No unauthorized person has ever gotten past one."
The HandKey hand readers automatically take a three-dimensional reading of the size and shape of a person's hand and verify their identity in less than one second. At the hospital, users enter a PIN code that they select and place their hand on the reader. The system quickly verifies if the hand presented matches the one associated with the PIN, and if so, permits access.
"Using cards and PIN codes together creates too many problems," Main explains. "Physicians do not like to carry badges. They lose or forget them. With the HandReader, all they need to remember is a PIN code that they choose."
Since the successful installation of the HandKey readers at the birth center, which facilitated nearly 5,000 births last year, Main has overseen installation of a total of 39 terminals throughout the hospital campus, which includes a 394-bed acute-care facility, a cancer center, a convalescent care center and an outpatient surgery center. Main is also considering placing one at the employee entrance.
HandKey terminals are now used in the birth center, IT data center, other major IT areas, the operating rooms and the emergency department.
"I believe the HandReaders have made hospital personnel even more security and safety conscious, and this, in turn, attracts more birth patients,” Main reports. “Operationally, they also take a level of concern off of employees so they can focus more on their jobs. Security does not have to be foremost on employees' minds all of the time as the HandReaders take care of that."
According to Main, the HandReaders integrate well with existing systems, cost less than alternative biometric methods, and offer greater convenience and security than badging systems. They are also extremely reliable and durable.
Rex Hospital recently installed Schlage Recognition System's HandNet for Windows software to manage the 39 HandKey terminals. Main recommends using the HandNet network solution for installations with more than four or five readers. "It makes everything much easier, including adding new readers and programming," Main reports.
HandNet provides Rex Hospital networked access control that's easy to install, simple to use, effortless to administer, and affordable. It offers complete door monitoring in real time for multiple sites. Remote sites can be monitored via modem or Ethernet. Every HandKey unit has a built-in door controller, so Rex Hospital could create an access control network by simply attaching a PC. New HandKey terminals can easily be added to the network.
With such a large number of employees, HandNet is invaluable for quickly reprogramming HandKey terminals to lock out former hospital employees and to add new ones. "I can also add an employee to just one reader if access must be restricted in some way," Main says.
About Rex Healthcare
Rex Healthcare is a private, not-for-profit health care system that has provided superior care to Wake County in North Carolina and the surrounding area since 1894. The Rex Healthcare hospital campus is the heart of the network of services. The hospital has over 900 physicians on staff and admitted nearly 27,000 patients in 2002.
About Schlage Recognition Systems
With over 80,000 hand geometry units throughout the world reading millions of hands each day, Schlage Recognition Systems, founded in 1986, is the pioneer of hand recognition technology used in access control and identification applications. The company is the world sales leader of biometric verification devices and serves an international clientele from its headquarters in Campbell, Calif. Its website is www.handreader.com. Phone is 408-341-4100. Schlage Recognition Systems is the biometric Access Control component of Ingersoll Rand’s Security Technologies Electronic Control Systems. The Ingersoll Rand website is www.irco.com.
-30-
For more information…
Bill Spence Tom Brigham
IR RECOGNITION SYSTEMS BRIGHAM SCULLY
408-341-4100 818-716-9021
bill_spence@irco.com tbrigham@brighamscully.com
