U.S. hospitals are facing a spate of at least eight fatal shootings so far this year, but most of them still are still avoiding use of metal detectors, according to a report by Scripps News.
The most recent fatal hospital shooting took place on Thursday at Johns Hopkins, when a distraught man shot a physician while getting news of his mother's condition, then went into is mother's room, killed her and then killed himself.
In June, the Joint Commission issued a sentinel event alert about rising violence in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. To guard against assaults, rape and homicide, which it said are significantly under-reported, the commission recommended facilities control access by using layered levels of security involving lighting, barriers, fencing, bag inspections and guards.
Most hospitals avoid using metal detectors, fearing this extreme measure would make them seem less inviting and undermine their role to serve the community. But hospitals can be sanctioned for not providing adequate security. In July, federal safety officials issued a $6,300 fine against Danbury (Conn.) Hospital for not providing adequate safeguards against workplace violence, based on complaints filed by hospital staff.
More than half of health workers surveyed last year by the Emergency Nurses Association said they had been hit, spat on or physically assaulted while on the job, and nearly a quarter said they'd experienced 20 or more acts of physical abuse during the previous three years. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates there are 2,600 non-fatal assaults on hospital staff each year.
"Hospitals are a dangerous environment," said Steve Kaufer, co-founder of the Workplace Violence Research Institute in Palm Springs, Calif. "People who go to hospitals are frequently under stress and many don't behave well during such times."
Besides the Hopkins incident, here is a list of seven other shootings at U.S. hospitals this year:
1. A nurse is shot and killed in the rear parking lot of Delta Medical Center in Memphis.
2. A man shot and killed one woman and wounded two others at Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
3. A man brought a revolver into Winter Haven (Fla.) Hospital and shot his bedridden wife and then himself.
4. A man killed his estranged wife, seriously wounded their 11-year-old son and took his own life in the parking garage of Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, Fla.
5. A woman fatally shot her former girlfriend outside Nassau University Medical Center on Long Island.
6. An elderly couple died in an apparent murder-suicide at Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.
7. A woman shot and killed her husband then killed herself at Las Vegas' Valley Hospital.
Read the Scripps News report on hospital violence.
Read the Joint Commission release on rising hospital violence.
The most recent fatal hospital shooting took place on Thursday at Johns Hopkins, when a distraught man shot a physician while getting news of his mother's condition, then went into is mother's room, killed her and then killed himself.
In June, the Joint Commission issued a sentinel event alert about rising violence in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. To guard against assaults, rape and homicide, which it said are significantly under-reported, the commission recommended facilities control access by using layered levels of security involving lighting, barriers, fencing, bag inspections and guards.
Most hospitals avoid using metal detectors, fearing this extreme measure would make them seem less inviting and undermine their role to serve the community. But hospitals can be sanctioned for not providing adequate security. In July, federal safety officials issued a $6,300 fine against Danbury (Conn.) Hospital for not providing adequate safeguards against workplace violence, based on complaints filed by hospital staff.
More than half of health workers surveyed last year by the Emergency Nurses Association said they had been hit, spat on or physically assaulted while on the job, and nearly a quarter said they'd experienced 20 or more acts of physical abuse during the previous three years. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration estimates there are 2,600 non-fatal assaults on hospital staff each year.
"Hospitals are a dangerous environment," said Steve Kaufer, co-founder of the Workplace Violence Research Institute in Palm Springs, Calif. "People who go to hospitals are frequently under stress and many don't behave well during such times."
Besides the Hopkins incident, here is a list of seven other shootings at U.S. hospitals this year:
1. A nurse is shot and killed in the rear parking lot of Delta Medical Center in Memphis.
2. A man shot and killed one woman and wounded two others at Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville, Tenn.
3. A man brought a revolver into Winter Haven (Fla.) Hospital and shot his bedridden wife and then himself.
4. A man killed his estranged wife, seriously wounded their 11-year-old son and took his own life in the parking garage of Baptist Medical Center in Jacksonville, Fla.
5. A woman fatally shot her former girlfriend outside Nassau University Medical Center on Long Island.
6. An elderly couple died in an apparent murder-suicide at Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights, Ohio.
7. A woman shot and killed her husband then killed herself at Las Vegas' Valley Hospital.
Read the Scripps News report on hospital violence.
Read the Joint Commission release on rising hospital violence.