The ER Has Become More Dangerous

A man who took hostages in a Pennsylvania hospital during a shooting last weekend that killed a police officer and wounded five others highlights the rising violence against US health care workers and the challenge of protecting them. Such violence takes place in emergency departments, but also in maternity wards and ICUs, hospital security consultant Dick Sem tells the AP. "Many people are more confrontational, quicker to become angry, quicker to become threatening," Sem said. "I interview thousands of nurses and hear all the time about how they're being abused every day." More:

• Stats: Health care and social assistance employees suffered almost three-quarters of nonfatal attacks on workers in the private sector in 2021 and 2022, for a rate more than five times the national average, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Attacks involving shootings are part of a wave of gun violence in recent years that has swept through US hospitals, which have struggled to adapt to the growing threat.

• Behind the scenes: In hospital attacks, unlike random mass shootings elsewhere, the shooter is often targeting somebody, sometimes resentful about the care given a loved one, Sem noted. "It tends to be someone who's mad at somebody," he said. "It might be a domestic violence situation or ... ex-employees."
• Pushback: With rising violence, more hospitals are using metal detectors and screening visitors at entrances, including in ERs. Sem said training can also be key to help medical staff identify those who might become violent. "More than half of these incidents I'm aware of showed some early warning signs ... that this person is problematic," he said. "That needs to be reported."
• A nurse's POV: At WellSpan Health, a Pennsylvania hospital where some of the most recent shooting victims were taken, Megan Foltz said she's been worried about violence since she became a nurse nearly 20 years ago. "In the critical care environment, of course there's going to be heightened emotions," she said. "People are losing loved ones." Besides the fear of being hurt themselves, nurses fear leaving their patients unguarded. "If you step away from a bedside to run, to hide, to keep safe, you're leaving your patient vulnerable," Foltz added.

More here, including examples of recent attacks in the US.

(More gun violence stories.)