Nurses push safety after Harrington stabbing
Harrington officials have consulted safety officials to examine its security following a June 14 stabbing of one of its nurses.
Joseph Early, district attorney
A nurse was stabbed by a patient while working at at Harrington Hospital in Southbridge earlier this month, the latest in a string of attacks of healthcare workers while on the job.
Attacks on nurses and other medical professionals while they're at work are common, according to the Massachusetts Nurses Association. More than 70 percent of hospital emergency room nurses are assaulted during their career, meaning these nurses are assaulted on the job more often than police officers and prison guards.
A 2016 nurses association survey found 86 percent experienced some violence at work in the past two years.
To help reduce those attacks, MNA has proposed a bill requiring healthcare employers to perform an annual safety risk assessment and, based on those findings, develop and implement programs minimizing the danger of workplace violence to employees and patients. The legislation gives assaulted healthcare workers up to seven days off to address legal issues and requires semiannual reporting of assaults on employees.
Violence against workers
The legislation would have helped Miko Nakagawa, a registered nurse who was attacked by a patient Jan. 6 at UMass Memorial - HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster, she said in her testimony to a legislative committee. Nakagawa said she will have to use time off to meet with a victim's advocate, attend court hearings and go to trial, which can take years.
“There are signs all over my hospital that say zero tolerance for violence. In reality, the hospital does tolerate violence against its staff,” she said in her testimony. “After I was assaulted, I received no support from the hospital when I sought to file charges against my assailant. I was not even allowed to talk to the hospital's attorney.”
Pat Noga, vice president for clinical affairs at the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, called the MNA bill problematic, saying it could interfere with protocols in place at hospitals across the commonwealth, leaving them vulnerable to more safety threats.
Hospitals are constantly looking to improve safety and security to respond to unforeseen situations, said Noga.
“Hospitals across the commonwealth have well-established and stringent policies and procedures in place to address workplace violence, with oversight from state and federal accreditation bodies and regulators,” Noga said. “These steps are constantly updated to reflect the latest input from safety and enforcement experts and best practices.”
The Harrington attack
At 10:17 a.m. June 14, a nurse was stabbed by a patient after he cornered her in Harrington Hospital's triage area. The nurse was immediately cared for at Harrington and then transported to UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester. She is recovering, according to a statement from her family.
The suspect in the Harrington stabbing, 24-year-old Conor O'Regan of Southbridge, immediately fled the hospital following the incident and was apprehended by Southbridge police, according to the office of Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early.
Early, who worked as a mental health attorney for 17 years, said he supports the MNA bill because it gives nurses another layer of protection.
“One of my idols once told me that the more we learn about the brain, the less we know about mental health. We're getting better, but we have much further to go,” said Early. “When you put nurses in tough roles, you have to give them every possible protection.”
After the attack, Harrington was put on lockdown, said Joseph Klimavich, a spokesman for the hospital. Public safety workers, who were already stationed at the entrance to the emergency department, started screening everyone who presents in the emergency room while management discussed longer-term responses.
“We have solicited guidance and support from security professionals, state agencies and local law enforcement about how to create a safer work environment. We have identified a number of initiatives, with considerable staff involvement, that we will be pursuing,” said Ed Moore, president and CEO of Harrington.
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