Project Profile: Total Security Integration For Methodist Health System
“Our relationship with American Direct and AccessNsite has grown to a truly complete offering that enables Methodist to provide a safe and secure working environment and ensure customer safety. All of this, while allowing us to spend our budget dollars more effectively.”
Matt Shaw
Director of Public Safety
Nebraska Methodist Health System
Methodist Health Systems encompasses three hospitals — Methodist Hospital, Methodist Women’s Hospital, and Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital — as well as 21 health clinic locations and a nursing and allied health college. American Direct and AccessNsite are partnering with Methodist to provide a totally integrated enterprise-level safety and security solution for all facilities.
The Nebraska Methodist Health System (NMHS) includes three hospitals (Methodist Hospital, Methodist Women’s Hospital and Women’s Center, and Methodist Jennie Edmundson Hospital); 21 clinic locations, a nursing and allied health college, and a medical supply distributorship.
An enterprise like NMHS is focused on keeping staff, patients and visitors safe and it uses a range of security measures to do this. A critical safety measure for NMHS is access control at the door opening.
Design-Build Collaboration
NMHS’s Director of Public Safety, Matt Shaw, learned that the 8/28 integration that American Direct and AccessNsite provides could benefit the healthcare setting and he chose to use the design/build approach to accomplish this. “Many of our spaces where we want access control are open access environments and historically have been difficult to secure because of free-flow traffic,” Shaw says. “Some traditional ways to secure access can be defeated or are very expensive. Now, we have one point of reference (American Direct/AccessNsite) to go to in order to determine a plan for every opening and discuss issues such as door and hardware selection, intrusion devices, lockset aesthetics, and re-keying needs.”
American Direct and AccessNsite works with the architect, the general contractor, and the owner early on to make sure the client end ups with the best possible total solution. AccessNsite Project Manager, Heather Rolli, says, “All parties involved are asked to participate in one forum so there are no missing links. Traditionally, the end user can get left out, but because of the way we do business, the end user is part of the early consultation and there are no surprises later.”
Rolli emphasizes how crucial open communication is with all parties involved before construction begins so that all of the needs and expectations can be met.
Intelligent Integration
Enterprises like NMHS have many contractors, subcontractors, visitors, and employees — all of which, from an access standpoint, can be managed via AccessNsite. In addition, in a healthcare environment, every department has a different level of safety that American Direct and AccessNsite mutually address. For example, there are completely different safety issues when addressing behavioral health (using anti-ligature locks to prevent patient self-harm), and NICU, where infant abduction lockdown systems would be important.
AccessNsite’s Vice President, Enterprise Systems, Brian Ashley, says “AccessNsite is fully integrated into NMHS’s human resources (HR) solution. Whenever NMHS adds new employee information into their HR system, that data is automatically ported into AccessNsite and AccessNsite then manages which doors those individuals can access depending on their job title. One of the highly regarded features of AccessNsite is that it is powerful, flexible, and configurable to the client’s needs.
NMHS is currently utilizing AccessNsite to do the following:
- Monitor intrusion — forced door alarms
- Single sign-on for computers — using your credential badge at the printer so you receive only your documents and private information doesn’t end up in anyone else’s hands
- NOW Vitals — NMHS’s system that uses the AccessNsite’s credential as a way to validate employee status to upload patient vitals into the medical record
Innovation Saves Time and Money
Access control choices for NMHS include bluetooth locks. Shaw says, “Bluetooth is a good alternative because we are not pulling cables, which means we decrease necessary labor and amounts of equipment. Basically it is costing us 60 percent less per door. This is an energized lockset that works in conjunction with a credential to gain access, so instead of pulling 120 volts and pulling cables to energize the strike in the door, we simply replace the door handle and battery-operated lock.”
The synergy between American Direct, AccessNsite and NMHS is impressive. Ashley says, “NMHS is never making a move without contacting us — that way they will get an immediate response. We are responsive to their needs and we are truly a team. We are more than a vendor to them, and they are more than a client to us.”
Shaw agrees, “Going in, we expect to pay a certain amount of money for security, but then American Direct helps us bring that cost down — they help us get more security for our money.’
An Ongoing Partnership
Methodist Health System continues to partner with American Direct and AccessNsite during construction, expansion, and maintenance including: integrating intelligent locksets, design and implementation of open-architecture badging solution, design-build services for all existing openings and expansions, and enterprise integration with the hospitals’ IT infrastructure and compliance system.
PROJECT SCOPE
Pre-Construction
- Design Consultation
- Specification
- Estimating
Logistics and Project Management
- Engineering
- Warehousing
- Delivery
8/28 Integration
- Enterprise Access Control Solution
- Access Control Software
- Access Control Integration
- Pre-Installation
- Onsite Installation
- User Training
