Hospital To Invest $60,000 In Security Upgrades

NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. (AP) — An upstate New York hospital is investing $60,000 in security upgrades in response to a report that found major deficiencies.

WKBW-TV in Buffalo reports Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center is limiting its public entrances, requiring all visitors check in and moving the hospital waiting area.

A new check-in desk for visitors and a hospital badge system is expected to be in place by the end of January.

The change comes after the television station put out an extensive report on the hospital's security in May in which employees said they didn't feel safe.

Hospital President and CEO Joe Ruffolo says the report showed "clearly we needed to tighten a number of areas."

He says he plans to bring Niagara Falls police to the hospital's campus to test the new security procedures.