ER Violence on the Rise

Violence is on the rise in Bismarck hospital emergency rooms... Security guards, tasers, locked ...  More »

Violence is on the rise in Bismarck hospital emergency rooms... Security guards, tasers, locked doors... No we aren't talking about a prison. These are things you'll find in an emergency room today. Reporter Tracy Fugere has more... (John Braaten, ER Nurse) Do you feel threatened at work? 'Um, no I feel safe at work. But you never know what you're going to run into next because you don't know what's coming through the door.' Nurse John Braaten says agressive or dangerous behavior happens everyday in the ER... More patients are using the emergency room than ever before. That meansmore people under the influence of drugs and alcohol...and even..more violence. (John Braaten, ER Nurse) Whether it be aggressive behavior from the drugs, methamphetamine. Alcohol withdrawal...people looking for drugs...the potential risk to exposure to blood or body fluids. Because of the violence, the hospital has added safety measures. The area has restricted access and video surveillance. Security guards carry tasers. (Brad Erickson, Medcenter One Safety Director) We felt that we had a couple weapons episodes here and other places in the facility that we had to give our security officers a tool to use some sort of non-lethal intervention. Ernie Thurman is a security guard for the hospital. He says guards are trained for managing aggressive behavior... (Ernie Thurman, MedCenter One Security Guard) They're taser trained, they're handcuffed trained, they're ASP trained, so pepper-spray trained. So I think the hospital does a very good job at keeping me safe as well as our customers, patients, and staff. And MedCenter One officials say even with the extra safety in place...those patients will still get emergency medical care, without delay. For KX News, I'm Tracy Fugere. MedCenter One is also working on adding bulletproof glass around the emergency room receptionist.  « Less