Security Technology Executive

FEB-MAR 2014

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www.SecurityInfoWatch.com stablished under the National Cancer Institute Act of 1937, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) is the federal government's principal agency for cancer research and training. It coordinates the National Cancer Program, which conducts and supports research, train- ing, health information dissemination, and other programs with respect to the cause, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of can- cer, rehabilitation from cancer, and the con- tinuing care of cancer patients and the fami- lies of cancer patients. Part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), NCI is one of 11 agencies that compose the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Challenges Accustomed to maintaining distinct cam- pus locations and operations, NCI had few organization-wide security or operational protocols in place across its five National Capital Region campuses and numerous off-campus facilities, housing 9,200 total employees. It also lacked a common creden- tial to identify employees and contracted personnel entering its sites. Given the sensi- tive nature of NCI's work, this security weak- ness could have devastating consequences. For example, after the earthquake in August of 2001, NCI senior staff realized it did not have a viable way to quickly ascertain the whereabouts of staff and account for dam- age at local facilities. It became quickly evi- dent that creating an off NIH campus com- mand center using a PSIM to both aggregate data from various systems and disseminate emergency data to staff was a critical need. While this had been business as usual for years, increasingly sophisticated (and typi- cally incompatible) security technologies and 34 SECURITY TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE • February/March 2014 E The National Cancer Institute Embraces PSIM to Improve Situational Response and Security HEALTHCARE SECURITY: A CASE STUDY NCI also sees PSIM solution as a way to standardize and integrate its operating procedures throughout the National Capital Region Above: In December 2012, NCI began the process of moving approximately 2,400 NCI staff to a new, LEED Certified facility located in Rockville, Md., aggregating six build- ings into one, the 574,000-foot space. STE_34-37_0314 Vidsys.indd 34 3/17/14 8:44 AM

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