Modern healthcare facilities are busy places. 

Each facility has dozens of different staff members, from doctors and nurses to technicians and maintenance staff, on-site at any given time. 

It's no surprise, of course, that healthcare is one of the most heavily regulated industries when it comes to identification programs and visitor policies.

With that in mind, a post on how a hospital or clinic needs good ID cards would be preaching to the choir: if you're a healthcare facility with no identification program, chances are the government has already come calling for you.

Instead, we wanted to point out ways to make your ID program better: by using Badge Buddies!

Those in the healthcare industry are probably at least somewhat familiar with Badge Buddies, even if they aren't known by name. 

"Those things with the letters that go behind our ID badges," you say.

Yup! Those are them. And while Badge Buddies are perfect for simple, effective role recognition, they can also be used to do so much more.

How can Badge Buddies make your healthcare ID program better?

The key. It's such a simple thing, something most people interact with on a daily basis without giving it much thought.

Keys have been around in a form similar to the metal ones most currently use for nearly 6,000 years, standing the test of time to remain a useful, functional tool.

However, as property managers and management companies of multifamily buildings know, keys can be a real pain in the neck to deal with.

Property managers are responsible for all aspects of keys at their site, including keeping track of the number of keys issued and the prevention of the creation of duplicates. Also, when a tenant moves out, new keys may need to be issued. If a set of keys is lost, locks need to be changed for security reasons, meaning more new keys. If you want to limit access to certain rooms, like gyms or resident lounges, that's another lock and another key. 

Keys, keys and more keys. In today's ever-changing, technology-laden world, isn't there an easier way to manage multifamily buildings?

Why yes, there is.

Property managers, meet PremiSys^™.

PremiSys is our access control system that,  due to integration with ENGAGE^™ technology from Allegion^™, allows you to say "goodbye" to keys, and say "hello" to a modern, secure wireless lock and security solution.

Find out the 5 reasons why PremiSys will have you saying "goodbye" to keys

For most organizations, the impetus for adding Visitor Management to a site is pretty obvious: the organization would like to boost site security.

A Visitor Management solution increases safety as soon as it's installed, serving as a way of preventing unauthorized guests from gaining access to a site. Visitor Management systems also go a step further by deterring potential troublemakers from even attempting to gain access.

While increased safety is the focus, installing a Visitor Management system at your site also comes with a number of tangential benefits that are often overlooked by the average consumer.

For example, things like guest arrival alerts can help make your organization look more professional by ensuring that each guest is greeted promptly by his or her host.

One of these tangential benefits might seem a little boring on paper (unless you're a spreadsheet guru, of course), but it's among the most useful features when it comes to analyzing what goes on at your site on a daily basis.

Visitor Management, reporting for duty

If you've been to a large medical facility recently, chances are you encountered Badge Buddies on your visit.

Even if you're not familiar with the term "Badge Buddies," you'd know one if you saw it: those large ID tags with bright colors and big letters hanging behind the ID badge of your nurse, x-ray technician or doctor.

Healthcare facilities of all kinds rely on Badge Buddies to provide clear, effective role recognition for their employees.

While some facilities issue Badge Buddies simply to make things easier on patients, others are required by law to ensure that employee job functions are easily identifiable, and Badge Buddies are just the most convenient solution.

Basically, Badge Buddies are known as being great for making a worker's title clear.

However, custom Badge Buddies can also be used for another purpose: to keep staff members informed of a facility's emergency codes and procedures.

Combine Badge Buddies and emergency codes for a safer facility

When creating new ID cards, most organizations are going to put at least a little bit of thought into ID card security features. The amount of thought will vary from site to site, of course: a gym printing membership cards won't be as security-conscious as a government office printing employee ID badges. 

No organization wants its cards to be easily counterfeited. That's why many of today's card security features exist: things like UV printing and holographic stamping are ways to ensure that forgers and scammers can't copy a badge for illegitimate purposes.

Learn more about today's most popular on-card security features.

Other card security products exist as well, including things like shielded badge holders and locking card cases. Card security is big business, and organizations go to great lengths to keep their cards protected.

But if you're printing ID cards on site, one of the bigger threats to your ID card program is probably sitting in your nearest trash barrel: used printer ribbons.

Stop throwing away sensitive card data

At the most basic level, a door lock really only needs to do one thing to be effective: prevent the door from being opened!

While this may seem like a low bar for success, it's true: a door lock should...well, lock doors. However, there are a number of different situations where you'd like your door locks to be capable of a little bit more. Securing doors in a school is one of those situations.

Unfortunately, today's schools need to worry about things like intruders, active shooters or lockdown situations. While we all wish these concerns never needed to enter the minds of today's educators, most schools are adopting a "better safe than sorry" approach that sees them upgrading their existing locks to something more robust.

Keeping unwanted intruders out remains the number-one priority of school door locks, but there are a few additional things that should be taken into consideration when upgrading to a new system.

Go beyond "just keep people out"

When it comes to ID card security, many people take a pretty casual stance.

"Eh," they think. "It's not like I'm creating some top-secret government card or something. Why do I need security?"

While it's true that some industries require more security than others, any organization issuing ID credentials should take steps to protect those cards against counterfeiting.

The risks of not protecting certain kinds of credentials, like the aforementioned government cards, drivers' licenses, passports and bank cards, are pretty obvious: allowing those credentials to be counterfeited would be opening the door (literally) to some huge security risks.

However, even smaller, less strict organizations should be considering the harm that can come from a counterfeit credential:

• If you're a small food market that issues loyalty cards to your best customers, how would they feel if anyone could duplicate the card and get the same discount?
• If you're a high school that issues credentials that give students free entry to a local museum, what happens to your school's reputation if a non-student duplicates the card to get free entry, then causes trouble?
• If you're a mid-sized organization that issues standard employee badges, how safe will your employees feel knowing anyone could copy their credentials?

From security, peace-of-mind and insurance perspectives, it makes sense to create secure ID cards. 

But if you're an organization that has already issued dozens of credentials, what are you supposed to do? Bite the bullet and reissue new cards to all employees?

Nope!

You can use a holographic overlay, a product that provides anti-counterfeiting measures without having to issue new credentials.

Holographic overlays offer effective, visual ID card security

The United States' involvement in the Vietnam War may have ended in 1975, but the impact of the war is still being felt by millions of Americans today.

From those mourning loved ones who lost their lives in the conflict to veterans who continue to wrestle with their experiences overseas, the Vietnam War remains an emotional, difficult chapter in American history.

With that difficulty and emotion in mind, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund created The Wall That Heals, a 3/4-scale replica of Maya Lin's famous memorial in Washington, DC.

This replica travels around the country, visiting various cities and towns to offer healing and peace to those impacted by the war. The Wall is tended by volunteers for the duration of its stay in a particular city or town — 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The South Shore Friends of The Wall That Heals was a group of volunteers looking to bring The Wall to Weymouth, a community south of Boston.

"As members of the Weymouth-Braintree Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, we were approached by one of our fellow members last summer with the idea of hosting The Wall That Heals in our community," said Trysha Ahern, co-chair of the South Shore Friends of The Wall That Heals. "Bringing it to Union Point, which is the former site of the South Weymouth Naval Air Station, also highlights some of the town’s rich military history."

A few weeks ago, the Friends had a bit of a problem: they had successfully gotten their visit from The Wall scheduled, but they had to find a way to identify the hundreds of volunteers who would be working during the event.

Giving back to a worthy cause

Students may be off enjoying the summer, but the focus on school safety and security never takes a vacation!

With that in mind, the federal government recently began accepting applications for new school security grants through the Department of Justice.

As you may remember, a few months ago, we covered the STOP School Violence Act of 2018. This act was introduced in response to the tragic violence that occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, and was included in the federal government's Omnibus Bill. 

To summarize what was discussed in that post, the STOP School Violence Act committed to making $25 million in school security grant funding available through the Department of Justice's Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS).

Back when that post was published, the details of how and when that funding would be dispersed were to be determined at a later date. We're happy to report that the "later date" has arrived.

Apply by July 30 to be eligible for funding consideration

Your mission: You need to buy ID cards.

Your company has decided to start an identification program by issuing employee badges, and you've been given the honor of figuring out how to get it done.  

Where do you begin?

If you're like most people these days, you head to the Internet. However, typing "ID cards" into Google will present you with an overwhelming number of terms and options.

CR80, mils, CR100, composite, laminate, holographic foil, overlays...

You never knew there were so many choices for creating what you've always viewed as just a small piece of plastic.

Don't be overwhelmed!

Yes, there are tons of options when it comes to choosing the kind of card you'll be using for your ID program.

However, you can narrow your search down to the few cards that meet your needs by asking a series of key questions about what you're trying to get out of your ID program.

We've compiled a list of these key questions, which are designed to help you determine what criteria are most important to you. These important details are what will lead you to that perfect ID card, and to a sense of "mission accomplished."

ID cards? We've got questions, and you've got answers.