Keyscan access control system secures facility, staff, and patients at Hartgrove Hospital in Chicago, Illinois

The Keyscan system now controls over 130 doors at Hartgrove Hospital

A behavioral health hospital faces a unique set of security challenges. It requires a full security solution that is flexible, and reliable to address a wide range of security issues. For Hartgrove Hospital in Chicago Illinois, the choice to go with a Keyscan Access Control system to provide this full solution was clear from the very beginning.

Hartgrove Hospital employs roughly 500 individuals, from administrators, to doctors and nurses, maintenance staff, and plenty of other staff designations, that all require access to different areas and resources within the hospital. Prior to moving into their new facility, Hartgrove was using traditional keys, and key switches to secure the building. For Mr. Martin Milot, Director of Plant Operations for Hartgrove Hospital, the keys simply were not working. “With Keyscan you never have to worry about a lost key. The card can be removed from the system in seconds so no unauthorised person can gain access to sensitive areas.” Keys and locks were being replaced often, costing the hospital thousands each year.

The Keyscan system now controls over 130 doors at Hartgrove Hospital. All floors including emergency and all quiet and seclusion rooms are managed by the Keyscan system. For hospital administrators the functionality of the system has been a major time saver. “Our HR director and I have remote access to the software. I can lock and unlock doors, add and delete cardholders all from my house if needed. I am able to ensure the integrity of the building at any time which is very convenient” says Mr. Milot.

The hospital is currently utilising Keyscan’s photo badging capability to provide photo identification, as well as card access to all employees on one credential. This same card also contains a barcode which can be read by other systems in the hospital, such as the time clock for the hospital’s time and attendance software.

“75% of our patients are children,” says Mr. Milot, “so it is especially important for us to control access to patient rooms and to know who has accessed which areas of the hospital.” Keyscan’s vast reporting capabilities are one feature of the system that captivated the hospital. “Having a full audit trail on all of our employees has been a great tool. Sometimes there are incidents where we have to do investigations. Now I can pull up reports that can provide useful information to help "fill in the blanks" of who, what, when and where.”

The system was installed by Video and Sound Service, a Keyscan enterprise dealer in Northlake, IL. Mr. Mark Lesmeister of Video and Sound designed the system for Hartgrove. The Keyscan panels were clustered on each of the four floors of the hospital, and connected over the hospital’s network. “The Vantage software is flexible, easy to set up, and extremely user friendly. It is very easy for the end-user to learn how to use. At Hartgrove we were able to use photos from the HR database to create the photo badge cards, saving them a lot of time” commented Mr. Lesmeister. With over 25 years of experience in the security industry, Mr. Lesmeister has seen his fair share of access products. “Keyscan is an easy system to install, it is incredibly reliable, and the end users are always happy. You can’t beat the value of a Keyscan system.”

For almost 2 years now, Hartgrove Hospital has been securing their facility, staff, and patients with a Keyscan access control system and they could not be happier with what they have been able to do with it. Mr. Milot agrees that “Keyscan is definitely the way to go.”