Ohio nurses criticize another hospital, demand protection from violent patients

The Ohio Nurses Association, which represents nurses at MetroHealth’s Behavioral Health Hospital, urged the hospital to ensure its nurses’ safety during a public hearing before the Cuyahoga County Council on Tuesday.

ONA member Ann Mueller called on MetroHealth System to protect its nurses from violent patients who have been terrorizing the workers for quite a while, according to Ideastream Public Media.

“Nurses are asking for the ability to do their jobs without being physically assaulted, without being placed in dangerous situations, without being forced to manage patient mixes that are unsafe,” she told Ideastream.

Jeff Bettinger, a MetroHealth nurse and the vice president of the ONA, added that nurses at the facility are being put at risk since the hospital houses violent or sexually aggressive patients.

“Patients are afraid to come out of their rooms, and nurses are subjected to assaults. One patient was assaulted by his roommate in the middle of the night during his sleep,” he said. “Imagine being admitted for depression and suicidal thoughts and having to be subjected to violent or sexually aggressive behavior.”

MetroHealth Spokesperson Rita Andolsen told the news outlet that the hospital already has a plan to address the issue.

“We have a comprehensive, multi-layered safety policy grounded in evidence-based practice and research that enforces a preventive and proactive approach to address workplace violence,” she said.

Unlike Andolsen, union advocates proposed specific solutions to the problem, including “stronger staffing, safer patient-placement protocols and enforceable safety measures that will protect employees and patients,” according to the news source.

It wasn’t the first time that Ohio nurses faced violence and threats from other people at the places where they work.

Ohio.News previously reported on the president of ONA, Rick Lucas, calling for an immediate and transparent investigation of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, where a man attacked a postpartum nurse.

“We are advocating not only for the safety, well-being and fair treatment of the professionals who care for patients across OSU, but also for the patients we serve in the broader community that rely on this institution for high quality, safe and compassionate care,” he said.

Lucas also mentioned other cases of the Ohio State nurses being threatened, pointing out that the police failed to address the problem.

“Some staff are now navigating disability accommodations because they fear they can not run fast enough to survive similar attacks,” he said. “Staff report anxiety, hypervigilance and trauma walking to and from work.”

The association demanded changes, including security stations in high-risk units, such as women’s and infant units and comprehensive code violence protocols that are clear and practiced effectively to protect staff members.

Additionally, the ONA called for Chief Administrative Officer Elizabeth Seely, other senior executives, the leaders of Ohio State police, the university’s public safety department and the medical center security, to be held accountable for not ensuring the safety of the nurses.