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Baby taken from San Jose hospital is found

Healthcare Security Weekly, January 22, 2007

Officials say a San Jose mother allegedly tampered with the hospital's bracelet monitoring system to flee from Valley Medical Center Wednesday night with her one-day-old daughter. Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies are investigating whether to bring child endangerment charges against the 24-year-old mother, reported the Mercury-News.

The mother and baby were found at a friend's house about five hours after the baby was taken from the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, the newspaper reported. The baby was suffering from serious medical problems at birth, which prompted the hospital to alert Child Protective Services. 

The hospital issued a "Code Pink" alert when both the infant and mother's security bracelets were tampered with and sensors set off an alarm. However, the mother, despite a caesarean section birth, was able to elude nurses and security and fled the hospital. A hospital spokesman said employees will review the incident, looking at procedures and equipment.

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