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By TODD FLORY

Salina Journal

ABILENE -- It's a fun event, but it has a serious purpose.

Officials hope to use money raised at the Flour Power Family Fun Fest on May 31 to make security improvements to the newborn nursery wing at Memorial Hospital Abilene.

The festival is at the Abilene fairgrounds at Eisenhower Park.

Ann Boughton, director of the Memorial Health Foundation, said the $40,000 project includes new doors leading into the nursery and an electronic security system. The security system, called a Halo system, consists of matching electronic bracelets worn by the infant and parent. The system prevents a person from removing the infant from the nursery unless he or she is wearing a matching electronic bracelet.

"If someone tries to do that, removing the infant that's wearing the cuff, the whole unit will go down to lock-down," Boughton said. "It's a system that most hospitals have already adopted, and we just feel like it's time for us to take this extra precaution."

The festival will feature a wide range of events, including a Kansas City Barbecue Society sanctioned state championship contest, a pedal pull competition, a flour fling slingshot competition, a hula hoop contest and a concert by Liverpool, a Beatles tribute band. The day will conclude with a fireworks show.

With $3,500 raised so far for the new security system, Boughton hopes the proceeds from the Liverpool concert and the entry fees from the various contests will enable the hospital to begin improvements to the newborn nursery soon.

"We looked up different projects throughout our health system and felt that this was the one that needed priority," she said. "A lot of hospitals in the area have adopted this system or a similar one, and we felt like it was time we needed to do the same thing. It's a precaution that we hope we never have to use."

For a complete schedule of festival events and locations for Liverpool tickets, visit www.mhsks.org/flour.

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