Pennsylvania 2018 December 2018 | Page 13

The inception of SNMF came after a tragic event in Illinois in Spring 2017. An inmate, Tywon Salters, was in the custody of Shawn Loomis, a corrections officer. Loomis reportedly fell asleep while Salters was unshackled. Salters retrieved the officer’s gun and immediately took nurse JD1 (Jane Doe One) hostage. He demanded her clothes and car keys. She complied. He planned to hold her as a shield to reach her car. Another nurse, JD2 (Jane Doe Two) intervened. Salters freed JD1, then took JD2 to a decontamination room where he proceeded to rape, beat, and torture her for hours (Sarkauskas, 2017; interview, undisclosed source, July, 2017). During this event, on May 13, 2017, a news story flashed across social media: hostage taken at Delnor Community Hospital. A few moments later, a second story stated the situation had ended without injuries. Limited information was released to the public until May 25 when the nurses filed a lawsuit describing the horrors of that day. After JD2 was beaten, raped, and tortured for more than three hours, SWAT made the painful decision to shoot the prisoner. To do that successfully, the bullet had to travel through the nurse. Workplace violence is not something with which the bedside nurse is unfamiliar. In fact, statistics con- sistently indicate more nonlethal assaults occur in healthcare than in any other industry (OSHA, 2015). Understand this: we are nonlethally assaulted more often than all industries combined, even more than law enforcement. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC), referencing BLS, reports 70% of nonfatal workplace violence requiring days away from work took place in healthcare in 2016. Of those, 21% required more than a month away from work to recover (CDC, 2018). SNMF has received multiple reports from those who have become totally disabled as a result of their assaults. One report came from a woman who asked for help because a traumatic brain injury left her unable to work and, for a brief period, homeless (personal interviews, Tanya Cabell, Octo- ber, 2017). More is at risk from workplace violence than finan- cial loss. The physical and emotional effects can be so pervasive that they interfere with your health and well-being at work and home. Acute stress disorder begins with the initial assault or vicarious trauma. Violence is a problem we must understand and end. It is not part of the job. With repeated exposures to stimuli or triggers, this can become classified as post-traumatic stress disor- der (PTSD) if symptoms remain six months post- assault. Vicarious trauma (the trauma of another person close to you, whether emotionally or physical- ly) can produce the same effects, meaning witnessing an assault can also impact well-being. In a study that measured neurobiological effects of workplace violence, one participant stated, “there’s the short-term thing of being kicked or you’ve been scratched or punched ... but [trauma responses] are cumulative, so people do leave the industry” (Beattie, Innes, Griffiths, Morphet, 2018, p. 46). Other noted outcomes in this study include burnout, disengage- ment, nurses leaving their careers, increased usage of paid time off, increase in staff negativity, intoler- ance, and avoidance. The damage from workplace violence can be devastating. In January 2018, the American Hospitals Associa- tion (AHA) estimated the financial cost of workplace violence in 2016 to be $2.7 billion (AHA, 2018). This cost includes $852 million in unreimbursed medical care, $429 million in medical costs, staffing, indemnity, and other costs, $1.1 billion in security and training, and $280 million in preparedness and prevention. AHA’s Website does not clarify whether these costs include those associated with staff turn- over or disability. While the total cost of prevention and response ($1.38 billion) is similar to the cost of response ($1.28 billion), research on evidence-based methods of prevention and responses are lacking. In consideration of the cost to victims, this type of research should be a high priority. Issue 73, 2 2018 Pennsylvania Nurse 11