Health Care Is One of America's Most Violent Fields
2023-08-10
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A wave of violence is increasingly affecting American hospitals and medical centers.
2Recent attacks at such places make health care one of the nation's most violent industries.
3Data shows American health care workers experience more non-deadly injuries from workplace violence than workers in any other profession -- including law enforcement.
4Michael D'Angelo is a former police officer. He now works as a security adviser in Florida.
5His work centers on health care and workplace violence.
6He said, "health care workers don't even think about" risks to their safety when they decide to become a nurse or doctor.
7But, he added, "health care is four or five times more dangerous than any other profession."
8Several mass shootings have taken place in hospitals across the country.
9In June of last year, a gunman killed his doctor and three other people at a medical office in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
10The gunman said he blamed the doctor for his continuing pain after an operation.
11In October of last year, a man killed two workers at a hospital in Dallas, Texas, while he was there for his child's birth.
12This past May, a man opened fire in a medical center waiting room in Atlanta, Georgia.
13One woman died and four other people were wounded.
14And late last month, a gunman shot and killed a security guard at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Portland, Oregon.
15Police later shot and killed the suspect, who was at the hospital for his child's birth.
16Hospitals and medical centers are trying to create a safer environment for workers.
17Legacy Health said it plans to add more metal detectors at all of its medical centers.
18It also plans to require bag searches at every hospital and send patients and visitors to controlled entrances.
19Legacy Health also said it will provide more officers with stun guns and will add protective measures from bullets to some glass at main entrances.
20The American Nurses Association says around 40 states have passed laws creating or increasing punishment for violence against health care workers.
21And some states, including Indiana, Ohio, and Georgia, let hospitals create their own police forces.
22Critics say private hospital police can worsen the health care and policing inequalities already experienced by Black people.
23They also say private police forces often do not have to release information such as how often they use force or if they detain members of a minority group more often.
24Deborah Burger is a registered nurse and president of National Nurses United.
25She said security teams cannot change the reasons leading to violence.
26Many of the reasons exist because of the country's problematic health care system, she said.
27Patients and families are often frustrated by high medical bills, limited treatment choices and long wait times.
28"Hospitals don't really have a complaints department, so the only real target they have is the nurse or staff that are standing right in front of them," she said.
29Worker shortages mean nurses are forced to care for more patients.
30That means less time to examine each one for behavior problems.
31Burger said efforts to calm an aggressive patient are not as effective if nurses have not been able to spend enough time to build a relationship with patients.
32Some hospitals tell their staff to try to make peace with aggressive visitors and patients.
33Hospital leaders want to avoid getting bad reviews from patients, Burger said.
34That is because the Affordable Care Act has tied part of federal repayment rates to patient satisfaction survey results.
35Low satisfaction means less money for the hospitals.
36D'Angelo, the former police officer, said, "The results of those surveys should never take priority over staff safety."
37I'm Gregory Stachel.
1A wave of violence is increasingly affecting American hospitals and medical centers. 2Recent attacks at such places make health care one of the nation's most violent industries. Data shows American health care workers experience more non-deadly injuries from workplace violence than workers in any other profession -- including law enforcement. 3Michael D'Angelo is a former police officer. He now works as a security adviser in Florida. His work centers on health care and workplace violence. He said, "health care workers don't even think about" risks to their safety when they decide to become a nurse or doctor. 4But, he added, "health care is four or five times more dangerous than any other profession." 5Several mass shootings have taken place in hospitals across the country. 6In June of last year, a gunman killed his doctor and three other people at a medical office in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The gunman said he blamed the doctor for his continuing pain after an operation. 7In October of last year, a man killed two workers at a hospital in Dallas, Texas, while he was there for his child's birth. 8This past May, a man opened fire in a medical center waiting room in Atlanta, Georgia. One woman died and four other people were wounded. 9And late last month, a gunman shot and killed a security guard at Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Portland, Oregon. Police later shot and killed the suspect, who was at the hospital for his child's birth. 10Hospitals and medical centers are trying to create a safer environment for workers. 11Legacy Health said it plans to add more metal detectors at all of its medical centers. It also plans to require bag searches at every hospital and send patients and visitors to controlled entrances. Legacy Health also said it will provide more officers with stun guns and will add protective measures from bullets to some glass at main entrances. 12The American Nurses Association says around 40 states have passed laws creating or increasing punishment for violence against health care workers. And some states, including Indiana, Ohio, and Georgia, let hospitals create their own police forces. 13Critics say private hospital police can worsen the health care and policing inequalities already experienced by Black people. They also say private police forces often do not have to release information such as how often they use force or if they detain members of a minority group more often. 14Deborah Burger is a registered nurse and president of National Nurses United. She said security teams cannot change the reasons leading to violence. Many of the reasons exist because of the country's problematic health care system, she said. 15Patients and families are often frustrated by high medical bills, limited treatment choices and long wait times. 16"Hospitals don't really have a complaints department, so the only real target they have is the nurse or staff that are standing right in front of them," she said. 17Worker shortages mean nurses are forced to care for more patients. That means less time to examine each one for behavior problems. Burger said efforts to calm an aggressive patient are not as effective if nurses have not been able to spend enough time to build a relationship with patients. 18Some hospitals tell their staff to try to make peace with aggressive visitors and patients. Hospital leaders want to avoid getting bad reviews from patients, Burger said. That is because the Affordable Care Act has tied part of federal repayment rates to patient satisfaction survey results. Low satisfaction means less money for the hospitals. 19D'Angelo, the former police officer, said, "The results of those surveys should never take priority over staff safety." 20I'm Gregory Stachel. 21Rebecca Boone reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 22___________________________________________________ 23Words in This Story 24stun gun - n. a gun that produces an electric shock which makes someone unconscious or stops someone from moving 25frustrated - adj. very angry, discouraged, or upset because of being unable to do or complete something 26complaint - n. a statement that you are unhappy or not satisfied with something 27staff - n. a group of people who work for an organization or business 28review - n. a report that gives someone's opinion about the quality of a book, performance, or product 29satisfaction - n. a result that deals with a problem or complaint in an acceptable way 30survey - n. an activity in which many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to gather information about what most people do or think about something 31priority - n. the condition of being more important than something or someone else and therefore coming or being dealt with first 32___________________________________________________ 33What do you think of this story? 34We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 35Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.