A healthcare worker at St. Bernards Medical Center in Jonesboro, Ark., was choked by an individual in the hospital Sept. 23, a spokesperson from the medical center confirmed to Becker's.
Jonesboro police are investigating the incidient. According to an incident report cited by ABC affiliate KAIT News, an individual had forced themselves past other hospital staff and began choking the employee, who lost their voice afterward.
Following the incident, medical center leadership has gone around to staff across hospital departments to both make sure they were safe and also that they feel safe, which can be two different things at times, the spokesperson said.
The job of the injured employee was not released, but a spokesperson confirmed that the individual was a healthcare employee. The injured employee is also recovering well, they confirmed.
On March 24, a law was passed in Arkansas making assaulting a healthcare worker a felony.
However, the medical center spokesperson said the law only goes so far in terms of deterrence of these violent events.
"Even though we have these signs about the act being a felony that are required to be posted at entrances and throughout our facility, we do recognize that deterrence only goes so far," the spokesperson said.
Deescalation techniques also continue to be a key focus of training for medical center staff, he confirmed.