Healthcare Workers Continue to Face Attacks in Separate Incidents

Safety at Work

Fredericksburg, VA (WorkersCompensation.com) – A Virginia hospital worker is safe after an attack by a woman waiting in the waiting room stabbed her in the face with an ink pen.

It was one of a number of attacks on hospital workers in the past month.

Deputies responded to a call from the Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center just after 3 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 30. When they arrived, they found a broken pen and blood on the floor of the Emergency Room area. According to reports, a woman from Pennsylvania was in the waiting room when she attacked a staff member. The woman used the ink pen to stab them in the head and face multiple times.

Officials said the staff member was able to fend off the attack and get to safety.

The staff member was able to fend off the attack and get to safety.

The attacker was identified as Nicole Smith, 38. She was arrested in the waiting area and taken into custody and charged with malicious wounding.

The sheriff’s office called out Smith’s actions in a statement.

"We are appalled by the actions of a visitor to our county against one of our healthcare workers. Healthcare workers dedicate themselves to caring for our sick and injured loved ones, and when one of them is senselessly attacked, it impacts the entire community," the sheriff's office said. "We wish the victim a full and speedy recovery and extend our sincere appreciation to the staff of SRMC for the care, compassion, and professionalism they continue to provide to Spotsylvania County."

In Pennsylvania, an EMS worker was attacked while they were responding to a call.

According to the Lancaster City Bureau of Police, an emergency medical services worker was attacked Nov. 6, as they were responding to a call. The criminal complaint and affidavit said a bystander flagged down Lancaster EMS for a person down.

Capt. Robert Patterson said he was finishing up his shift when he noticed Rashaun Marquis Sligh laying in the area unconscious. Patterson said that as he was trying to help, Sligh grabbed him by the throat.

"He pulled me down to the ground, in a chokehold, I thought I was going to die," Patterson said. "It was just getting tighter and tighter."

Charging documents said a bystander saw Sligh choking Patterson and intervened.

"He at least distracted him enough that I could, you know, maneuver to basically take his airway away so he would release me," Patterson said.

Patterson said he is a night shift supervisor and works alone, showing up to calls as an extra set of hands if needed. Patterson said he was supposed to wait for police backup, but he didn’t know if helping Sligh was a matter of life or death.

"It's a catch-22 today because, you know, people always say 'wait for the police'. Well, the police came in after it happened and I mean, I already let the 911 center know I was assaulted and the person ran away," Patterson said. "They [police] did a fantastic job going after him. But, you know, I have an individual that's lying face down on the street. I can't confirm he's breathing. He's not moving. If I wait for the police, that's the difference between life or death, you know?"

Sligh fled the scene but was eventually stopped by police. Officers said they had to restrain him on the ground through the use of an electronic control weapon. Officers had several glass “crack pipes” on him and a marijuana grinder. He was charged with aggravated assault, fleeing arrest or detention on foot, resisting arrest, possession of drug paraphernalia and public drunkenness.

Patterson called for change in the industry. He asked for body worn cameras and other forms of protection.

"Anybody in the state of Pennsylvania can carry pepper spray or mace, but we're not even allowed to have that on the ambulance," Patterson said. "That's got to change, because clearly, if I had something else other than, you know, my trauma shears, it would have been a completely different outcome, a lot quicker."

Early last month, a Healthcare worker at the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center Altoona suffered a skull fracture and brain bleed after being attacked by an ER patient.

Authorities in Blair County said a 40-year-old man, Bradley Lloyd, of Tyrone, attacked the “patient care technician” repeatedly. The attack left the victim unconscious and with a cracked skull and a brain bleed. The victim was flown to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh for emergency surgery.

Lloyd had to be heavily restrained and “chemically sedated,” police said, due to being a “violent patient.” He was arrested and taken into custody.

According to the American Hospital Association, attacks on healthcare workers have been increasing. The attacks are costly for hospitals, amounting to about $18.27 billion in U.S. dollars in 2023. Post-event costs for health care, work loss costs, case management, staffing and infrastructure repair account for an estimated $14.65 billion, the AHA said. The largest contributor to total annual costs came from post-event health care expenses to treat violent injuries.

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