When two nurses at Northeast Georgia Health System (NGHS) hospitals were attacked last week, one in Gainesville and one in Braselton, the incidents triggered memories of a related story in 2023.
There were two parts to that story. One was about new state legislation addressing such incidents and the other dealt with on the testimony before a legislative committee by a Gainesville nurse who said she was attacked 2021 by a patient.
EARLIER STORY. POSTED MAY 16, 2023: Gov. Brian Kemp a few weeks ago signed a bill that strengthens the state’s laws against physically assaulting health care works. But the ink was hardly dry before that mass shooting at a health care facility in Atlanta occurred. And now comes word of an incident last week involving a nurse and patient at Northeast Georgia Medical Center (NGMC) Gainesville (pictured). (More on that later in this story.)
The new law increases the penalty for attacking hospital employees and follows testimony before a legislative committee that included a 2021 appearance by a NGMC nurse who detailed for lawmakers what happened when she intervened as a patient attacked a co-worker. (Click here to access her testimony https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvYTqj9mEaU&t=921sboosts
The 2023 incident at NGMC Gainesville occurred Friday morning about 9:00, according to Gainesville Police. The police report lists it officially as a case of “Terroristic Threats and Acts.”
“A patient in the hospital made threats towards a (23-year-old) nurse,” police spokesman Kevin Holbrook said (at the time).
STATEWIDE NUMBERS AS OF 2023:
While there isn’t specific information about how many hospital workers in Georgia have been attacked by patients, a state Senate study found that workplace violence is a problem in Georgia hospitals.
EXPLANATION
- A Georgia Senate study found that 22% of workers’ compensation claims filed by healthcare workers are due to workplace violence.
- The study also found that patients with mental illnesses and opioid abusers are common assailants.
- The study noted that violence occurs in rural hospitals as well as urban and suburban hospitals.
- Long emergency department wait times, sometimes made worse by COVID, contribute to the increase in workplace violence.
Healthcare workers have a higher risk of being physically, sexually, or psychologically injured compared to other workplaces.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The most common type of violence in healthcare settings is client-on-worker violence, which includes patients, their family members, and visitors.
A 2024 survey by National Nurses United found that 81.6% of nurses experienced at least one type of workplace violence incident in 2023.
And it’s not just nurses and other front-line workers who are victims. Surgeons are also sometimes targets, according to a study released last fall by the American College of Surgeons (ASC) which you can read here:
Violence Escalates against Surgeons and Other Healthcare Workers | ACS