Nurse Assaulted, Hospital Administration Reacts with Increased Security and Panic Buttons

Image source: Utica Police

Another week and another story of a nurse being attacked by a patient. On October 26th, Anthony Garcia, 23, of Utica, New York, was charged with second-degree assault after punching a nurse at Wynn Hospital.

According to the Utica Police, the nurse was assisting another healthcare worker with a patient when Garcia abruptly left his hospital room. Upon asking to return to his room, Garcia punched the nurse in the eye. The nurse suffered a large cut and swelling. 

After the attack, nurses at Wynn Hospital reached out to the local news station, hoping to draw attention to this urgent matter. WKTV received an email from a staff member and the urgency regarding staff safety, calling it a “life and death matter”. 

"I was assaulted. I sustained some injuries. I'm doing OK. I sought out some counseling afterwards. It's traumatic not only for myself, but also for all of my coworkers. They were shocked. They were scared," said Wynn Hospital RN Paula Culver.

The uptick in assaults has primarily been seen in the ER and behavioral health unit. Culver, a nurse in the behavioral health unit, still loves her job despite the risk of assault. Culver said, "I love my job. I don't just like my job. I love my job. I have great coworkers; they're some of my favorite people."

Finding a Solution

The nurses at Wynn Hospital have worked with administration to support the staff and keep everyone safe while still delivering high-quality patient care. "Ultimately, our message is not one of blame, but of advocacy. We want to work together with administration, local leaders and the community, we want to create a more safer and supportive environment for patients and staff," said Cassie Roberts.

Wynn Hospital is owned and operated by Mohawk Valley Health System. The administration is working closely with the staff to try and keep them safe. A multidisciplinary workplace violence prevention committee meets every month.

"In the beginning of the year, we implemented a training program for de-escalation," said Chief Nursing Officer Julie Hall. "To date, we've had about 2000 of our employees have completed it."

Starting at the beginning of the year, all staff who interact with patients will wear an alert or “panic” button. "They're wearable devices, that when something happens, it goes right to security. Then, security can respond very quickly rather than calling something overhead, having a delay, making it known that you're calling for help because sometimes that makes a situation worse," said Hall.

In the interim, the hospital has increased security in the ER and put a plainclothes security officer in the behavioral health unit.

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