Group Home Employee Fatally Stabbed at Work, as Attacks on Healthcare Workers Continue

Safety at Work

Portland, ME (WorkersCompensation.com) – Police in Portland, Maine confirmed this week that resident of a group home was under arrest after he allegedly fatally stabbed one of the workers there.

Marlene McNeill, 40, was working as a program manager at Shalom House on May 6, when she was attacked by Armando Javier Negrete, one of the home’s residents. Police said Negrete attacked McNeill in a back hallway of the building. McNeill suffered life-threatening injuries as a result of the attack and was transported to Maine Medical Center. Officials later said she died of her injuries at the hospital.

Officers located Negrete on the group home’s property and took him into custody. A knife was later found on the premises as well. Negrete was charged with murder and ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation. Residents of the home were evacuated out of the building from the second floor so they would not have to walk through the crime scene.

The Shalom House is a non-profit organization supporting adults that live with mental illness. The organization said it was devastated by McNeill’s loss.

"We are heartbroken regarding the tragic death of one our employees, Marlene McNeill. Our deepest condolences and thoughts are with Marlene's family and her large community of friends, which includes her Shalom House community," Shalom House spokesperson Rick Finberg said in a statement. "There is much to be said to honor Marlene. She shared with the rest of the Shalom House team a passion for the agency's mission and was dedicated to Shalom House employees and clients."

A GoFundMe account has raised more than $152,000 to support her family – her partner Mike O’Connell and their two daughters – after her death.

“The immediate needs are real and pressing,” Brian O’Connell, Mike’s brother and the GoFundMe organizer said in a post. “With the loss of Marlene's income, Mike is managing groceries, childcare, and basic daily necessities largely on his own, while also facing the many unknowns of these unexpected circumstances. Insurance and other assistance may come in time, but right now, this family needs help bridging the gap. Marlene's mother and sister, as well as the many friends and community members who loved her, are standing behind this effort. Any contribution, large or small, goes directly toward keeping her children stable and cared for during the hardest chapter of their lives. Marlene's spirit was too strong not to leave a lasting ripple. Help us make sure her children feel it.”

Portland police said the investigation into the case is ongoing.

Worker attacks, especially those in healthcare, continue to climb, a recent report from the NCCI said.

According to a report released in April, workplace assault measure have increased at an average rate of about 5.3 percent. The rate of workplace assaults per 10,000 full-time equivalent workers has increased by 62 percent. Most of those assault cases are concentrated in the healthcare and social services sectors, the report said, with the number of annual assaults in this sector being 10 times what it is in the next largest sector – retail trade.

The report also found that women tend to experience an elevated risk of workplace assault, and that workers between the ages of 20 and 34 experience more assaults that other age groups. Nearly 93 percent of workplace assaults were workers being hit, kicked or beaten by another person, the report said.

In Milwaukee last week, police arrested a man for beating a health care worker at Columbia St. Mary’s Hospital, officials said. The incident is the latest violent event in the last several years at the hospital.

Police said Kenneth Flagg, 36, is suspected of attacking a 38-year-old physician’s assistant at the hospital on May 5.

The victim reported that he had been treating Flagg for anxiety and insomnia when Flagg suddenly hit him in the head with a. large Milwaukee Tool battery. Officers said the victim needed 11 staples for lacerations to his scalp and medical glue to close a laceration on the side of his jaw. The attack also chipped one of the victim’s teeth.

Local television station TMJ4 said the attack follows other acts of violence at the hospital including a stabbing in 2024, and two stabbings in 2018.

Gina Dennik-Champion, CEO of the Wisconsin Nurses Association, told TMJ4 that workplace violence is an ongoing problem in healthcare settings.

"Workplace violence remains an issue in healthcare. And it is a reason for leaving. It is a reason for burnout, you know, that employee is not feeling supported," Dennik-Champion said.

A 2024 study on workplace violence by the Wisconsin Nurses Association found that 46 percent of nurses reported being hit or punched.

An Ascension Milwaukee spokesperson said in a statement that staff safety was a focus point for the hospital.

"The safety and well-being of our associates, patients and visitors are always our highest priorities. We stand with our caregivers - and all of our associates - in working to prevent violence in the workplace. Across our Ascension Wisconsin facilities, we continually assess and adapt our violence prevention and security protocols which include strategies such as visible security measures, de-escalation training, threat assessment tools to identify risks early, and guidance from cross-functional Workplace Violence Prevention Committees,” the spokesperson released.  "We are fully cooperating with the Milwaukee Police Department as they investigate this matter. Due to patient and associate privacy concerns, we are unable to comment specifically on this incident."

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