Fayetteville, N.C. — Cape Fear Valley Medical Center has rolled out a new visitor policy to increase security.

As of Tuesday, the Fayetteville hospital closed off 27 of its 35 entrances to visitors and began requiring all visitors, including vendors and contractors, to register at security desks. At the desks, a photo ID is either scanned, or visitors have their picture taken to create an identification badge.

Each badge is good for 12 or 24 hours, and the badges include a degradable sticker that gradually exposes a stop sign symbol to show when it has expired.

"It is where hospitals are going. It is where schools are going," said Richard Sanders, director of security and police services at Cape Fear Valley. "It's just the next evolution of what we're doing to ensure the safety and security of our patients and their families."

The children's and family care units will also have an additional layer of security, he said.