Louisville Nursing Association Fears Attacks Could Impact Recruitment Efforts

Safety at Work

Louisville, KY (WorkersCompensation.com) – On April 26, a woman was arrested after assaulting a nurse at the University of Louisville Hospital.

It was one of three reported attacks in the last two months that officials said is an indication of the constant threat nurses are under. Already facing a nurse shortage, officials fear the continued attacks could further hamper efforts to recruit more nurses in the coming years.

At the end of last month, UofL security was called to the third floor of the hospital for a panic alarm. A review of video footage showed that the suspect, Mykeisha Johnson, 35, came up behind a nurse and choked the nurse as she was conducting rounds. Johnson then threw the nurse to the ground and hit her repeatedly.

The Louisville Metro Police Department said two mental health technicians attempted to stop the attack until security arrived. When police arrived, Johnson was discharged from the hospital and arrested.

Johnson later said she assaulted the nurse because it was taking too long to discharge her from the hospital.

UofL Health said the hospital supported its employee.

"UofL Health does not tolerate any violence or abuse against its staff, patients, or visitors,” the hospital said in a statement. “LMPD has made an arrest and is handling the investigation. Our employee was treated and released."

It was the latest attack, police said.

On April 12, police said they sent a unit to Jewish Hospital for a call of a stabbing. A black female, wearing black clothing had stabbed a nurse getting off work. In March, a nurse called 911 to report a fight amongst patients where nurses who were trying to intervene were also hurt. In that incident, hospital security would not let officers enter the hospital and left nurses to fend for themselves.

Police said those are only the attacks that are reported. Nurses face dangerous situations on a daily basis, officials said. The three incidents inside the hospital are only a few of the hundreds of crimes reported in the area at or near Louisville hospitals and nearby parking garages.

According to a report by WHAS, LMPD’s crime data portal shows almost 100 assaults were reported around area hospitals over the last year.

The incidents all involved law enforcement and were outside of the hospital. Inside the hospital walls the number of assaults may be higher, officials said.

“Many healthcare professionals that are harmed don't report it, and they don't report it because they don't think anybody will listen. And then there are others who think that it's part of the job. It is not part of the job,” Delanor Manson, CEO of the Kentucky Nurses Association said.

According to the Kentucky Nurses Association, the state will see a shortage of 20,000 nurses in the next five years. But continued attacks on nurses by patients could make recruiting nurses even more challenging. Manson said she’s already working on the expected shortage, but workplace violence isn’t helping.

“You're going to lose a lot of your experience because a lot of your experienced nurses and staff are going to leave, because they're going to get tired of it,” a nurse told WHAS.

Manson said that fear could trickle down to young people interested in becoming nurses.

“They hear about these types of incidents, and they're not interested in joining a profession where they’re going to be harmed. If they were, they say we would be policemen or we would be firemen. We don't want to help people and be harmed,” she said.

Hospitals are going to have to provide support for their staff, she said, and is working with lawmakers on necessary reforms.

For their part, hospitals said they are working to make nurses’ workplace safer.

“There are serious concerns about workplace violence in the healthcare industry,” Baptist Health said in a statement. “Baptist Health is committed to protecting the safety of our staff, patients and visitors. Providing high-quality care in a safe environment is our top priority. Baptist Health has been working closely with our frontline caregivers, and all of our hospital and physician practice employees, to identify and implement enhanced workplace safety measures. By listening to our employees, we have included advanced intervention training, security and response protocols, and collaboration with law enforcement partners to address the real needs and experiences of our workforce.”

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