Hospital Violence in the News

November 2015

UNAC/UHCP members shared their experiences with hospital violence with CBS LA on a featured story aired November 11.

UNAC/UHCP RN Elizabeth Hawkins told the story of her 2013 attack by a mentally ill patient. When thinking back to how she felt when she was attacked, Hawkins worried, "I might not see my daughters grow up." After her attack, Hawkins was off work for three months. The patient was never charged for the attack.

Watch the full story on the UNAC/UHCP Facebook page.

Another UNAC/UHCP RN, Maria Gaytan, suffered severe neck injuries when an emergency department patient tried to choke her and was off work for six weeks as a result.

UNAC/UHCP Executive Vice President Denise Duncan, RN, spoke to CBS about why hospital violence against workers, always an issue, has become more prevalent.

"Mental health patients are now being boarded in our health care facilities because of lack of mental health beds. Our registered nurses, our health care workers, they are not prepared to take care of that population of patients," said Duncan in the segment.

Watch the full story on the UNAC/UHCP Facebook page.

If you would like to be a part of our workplace violence work, please send an email with your name and contact information to wpv@unacuhcp.org.