If Lifespan Docs or Brass Were Assaulted, Nat’l Guard Would Be Deployed - No Action for Nurses
Monday, December 25, 2023
In the past few months at Lifespan Hospitals, nurses and frontline staff have been beaten and sprayed with chemicals.
The violence is only increasing, with three incidents in the last week alone.
In a September attack, one of the nurses was beaten so badly they were sent to the ICU in critical condition.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTLifespan’s administration says nothing.
Leaders in Rhode Island nursing organizations are calling for change — critical systematic change — in order to protect nurses and staff.
“We’re losing nurses and we can’t afford this,” said Donna Policastro, Executive Director of the Rhode Island State Nurses Association (RISNA). “People are leaving the profession for fear of violence .”
“The only way to stop is to change our mental health system — where patients go when they have these issues — and changes in protocols,” said Policastro. “We need workplace safety in place for workers, and appropriate consequences.”
“United Nurses and Allied Professionals union has worked for years pushing legislation and hospital policies that keep nurses safe, including the 2021 Workplace Violence Act, which was a big step in the right direction. But there is still a lot more work to be done, as witnessed by the recent assaults on nurses in our hospitals,” said UNAP President Lynn Blais, R.N. “In many instances, we treat patients suffering from mental illness in our hospitals because there aren't enough beds in our psychiatric facilities. In the absence of more beds, a stronger security presence is needed in areas where these patients are treated.”
It is hard to believe that if the victims of these attacks were million-dollar administrators or physicians, there would not have been immediate action.
It is a two-tier system.
If one of Lifespan’s million-dollar administrators were beaten, the Pinkerton Guards or the National Guard would be deployed.
An editorial is the opinion of a publication — specifically, the ownership.
While based on facts and news reporting, it is an opinion intended to discuss critical community issues. Often, the opinion is written with the intention of positive change.
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