Government Alert: Hospital Security Breach

[BEER980]

Government Alert: Hospital Security Breach
By The Eyewitness News Investigators

(New York-WABC, May 4, 2005) — Imagine - people posing as doctors and inspectors, just walking into a hospital and demanding information and patient records. Now the Department of Homeland Security is taking action. The last two hospitals where it happened were in Newton and New Brunswick, New Jersey.

This really has federal authorities puzzled - intruders masquerading as doctors and inspectors probing hospital security. But there is no evidence the cases are connected, including two in New Jersey. Hospital officials and security experts say the similarities are disturbing. It happened on Easter Sunday. Three men of middle-eastern descent entered a Sussex County hospital posing as physicians.

Dennis Collette, Newton Memorial Hospital President: "They said they were physicians and wanted a tour of hospital and wanted information about hospital, bed capacity, and wanted a tour of the emergency department." Two days later, a man and woman walked into the emergency room at Robert Wood Johnson Hospital in New Brunswick, also requesting a tour.

Similar suspicious activity at hospitals in Boston, Detroit and Indiana prompted the Department of Homeland Security to issue a alert. It warns about intruders posing as hospital inspectors and doctors trying to gain information. The use of false credentials to gain entry into hospitals is not new and is often done to get drugs or medical supplies. But the Department of Homeland Security says these recent events are different because of the number of similar incidents over a short period of time.

William Daly, Control Risks: "That's the most troubling thing, they're more sophisticated." This former FBI counter-terrorism expert says these cases have all the markings of classic reconnaissance.

William Daly: "It seems to be almost looking to see how much information they can get how much information is available, what is out there, what people's response will be and they all seem to fade off before anyone's able to get authorities or get these people taken in for questioning." The Department of Homeland Security's bulletin stresses it has no direct threat information related to hospitals. Security experts caution that these cases of fake physicians and inspectors could just be coincidental, however bold and bizarre.

Dennis Collette: "It is unusual for three people to come claim to be doctors on an Easter Sunday and ask for a tour." The identity of these intruders remain unknown. We do know that security cameras at the Newton Hospital did capture video of the three men pretending to be doctors. That tape is now in the hands of the FBI.
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[Aslkahuna]

Makes sense to check out the hospitals in advance so that you can figure out how to take them out during a massive attack so that they can't respond to large numbers of casualties.

Steve

[streetsoldier]

Makes sense to check out the hospitals in advance so that you can figure out how to take them out during a massive attack so that they can't respond to large numbers of casualties.

Steve

Ditto for EMT/fire/police/communications organizations and physical plants, Steve; the same tired song I've been singing since I was a FEMA Director in the mid-80's.

No one was listening then...few hear it now.

[Cookiely]

Makes sense to check out the hospitals in advance so that you can figure out how to take them out during a massive attack so that they can't respond to large numbers of casualties.

Steve

I would think more in terms of a biological attack. Infect your physicians and nurses (who then wouldn't be able to take care of the populace) and then also infect the patients going home to spread the agent. Airports and hospitals have lots of people going to different areas and regional locations. Think of the patients that come for open heart surgery and then fly home to another state.

[BEER980]

It is starting to look like a probe. I thought the last one was strange but didn't post it. Now we have two more so someone is up to something. Bio is one type of attack that would have a good effect on the ER but it could be treated quickly as well depending on the type. I would be worried that these could be a practice run for a suicide bomb attack. I read the other day about the latest one they have thought up. It is a bra bomb attack.

[Wpwxguy]

A bra bomb huh? She's one hot mama! Not funny though.....This could be a serious threat. The possibilities of what these people are doing are vast. I have found our hospital system to be pretty much unguarded. In our local hospitals you can just walk in and pretty much have access to any part of it. Perhaps they are involved in a bio terror plan, maybe they want to steal vaccines. Maybe replace vaccines or medicines with a bio terror organism/agent. Who knows......Its quite scary to think about.