New Technology Improves Security at Phoebe

During his 40 year tenure at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, Edwin Willis has seen first-hand how technology has advanced, along with how important it is keep up with the pace of this fast moving world. “I can remember a time that if someone was a threat to our staff or my assistance was needed in a different part of the hospital; I could just walk across the parking lot and handle things. Now, we have many more employees, patients and campuses, I am unable to be everywhere all of the time,” says Willis. Since its early beginnings in 1911, Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital has grown to serve a demand of nearly 300,000 patients over a 60 mile radius. With endless expansions and extensions of the hospital campus, there became a need for a more versatile and adaptable way of securing the facility. “The systems that we were using were becoming obsolete. We were still operating with analog cameras, which were not of the best quality. The advancement of technology had finally caught up to us. It was time to take the next step in securing our facilities and staff, but also our biggest priority, our patients,” Willis said. That is when he contacted CooperCraft Communications about the possibility of implementing a more efficient way of securing the facility. When evaluating PPMH’s current security situation, the decision was made to upgrade to ExacqVision Enterprise VMS using both customer provided Virtual Servers and ExacqVision hardware. Converting and replacing cameras were necessary to improving the level of security as well. CooperCraft technicians installed Axis indoor and exterior cameras, and Arecont Vision 180-degree panoramic cameras, for use in the parking lots at Phoebe campuses. CooperCraft Communications also installed S2 Enterprise security management, which allowed for data integration to PPMH’s Human Resource Database making it a seamless and more fluid process for employee access to buildings. At completion, CooperCraft will have installed a total of 308 access controlled doors, 212 security cameras, 8 video servers, 2 DVRs, and a total of 14 Terabytes for video storage, for over 6,300 users of the Phoebe family. “We are still able to use some of our old equipment with the new system. This played a vital part in choosing CooperCraft and the systems they offered. Having the new cameras is like having new security staff. I have 19 security guards in house, and a pool of 31 police officers I can use. Now that we have state of the art cameras, we can be in different places at once; it also cuts down on the liability of the hospital, since we are able to record footage and go back and look at any instances that could be questioned,” says Willis. “CooperCraft has proven to be an excellent business partner. They have qualified and knowledgeable employees, who have made this process very easy to the staff and myself. The employees and I are extremely satisfied in the work provided, and look to partner with CooperCraft on future security needs.”

Ed Willis, Director of Security at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital