Union demands action after OSU nurse allegedly choked on the job

A nurse was allegedly choked at Ohio State University Hospital just months after Ohio State University nurses ratified a union contract demanding more protection for medical staff.

On Nov. 6, a postpartum nurse at Rhodes Hall was assaulted by a hospital visitor after she tried to protect a newborn baby, according to a letter from the Ohio Nurses Association (ONA), the state’s largest nurses’ union. The infant was caught in the middle of an altercation between the newborn’s mother and a male visitor, and when the nurse tried to intervene, the male visitor allegedly choked her.

Hospital security and OSU police officers responded to the situation, secured the baby and detained the visitor. The OSU Police Department confirmed that charges of assault, violation of a protection order and unlawful restraint have been filed in Franklin County Municipal Court against the male.

In addition, he has been “formally advised by medical center security not to be on property” unless he is seeking medical care.

An Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center spokesperson said in a statement that the baby was “unharmed.” The nurse was not working as of Nov. 10 and is fearful of returning, the union said, and is recovering physically.

But the nurses’ union accuses the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center of failing to properly respond to the alleged assault on the nurse and intentionally minimizing the situation. Rick Lucas, ONA president, told The Dispatch that the nurse was not checked on by management or offered medical care after the alleged assault.

Additionally, according to Lucas, police indicated that there had already been a call to them on Nov. 5 about the male visitor.

The medical center spokesperson described the incident in an emailed statement as “disruptive behavior while holding a newborn” and that the male visitor “pulled one of our nurses into the hall by her shirt collar as she tried to secure the baby.”

ONA vehemently denies that characterization and sent a letter Nov. 10 requesting the hospital system retract the statement, first made to NBC4i on Nov. 9.

“She was strangled in what should have been a safe place. She was attacked trying to save a baby. And the people who should have protected her acted like it was just another incident,” Lucas wrote in the ONA letter.

The medical center admitted in their statement that, after the man was apprehended, “steps in our post-event notification procedures were missed, which regrettably delayed the delivery of some of our support services for the nurse and other involved staff until the next morning. We are correcting that to ensure a similar delay does not occur in the future.”

Lucas said the union has “no confidence” in OSU’s leadership. On Nov. 10, ONA sent a letter calling for Elizabeth Seely, chief administrative officer of the hospital, to resign.

Violence against nurses a persistent issue nationwide

The Ohio State University Nurses Organization, the specific OSU nursing union under the ONA umbrella, ratified their contract with the university hospital system on July 3. Protections for nurses was a major sticking point in negotiations.

Workplace violence has been steadily increasing in hospitals and other health care centers nationally, and Wexner Medical Center staff have previously said their hospital is no exception. Hospital workers told The Dispatch earlier this year that violence against nurses has been a pervasive problem, but was rarely addressed by leadership.

“This altercation is a troubling example of a persisting national problem. No one should face the threat of harm at work. We remain firmly committed to providing a safe and secure environment for everyone who comes to our facilities to work, learn or receive care,” the university hospital spokesperson said in the statement.

Business and consumer issues reporter Samantha Hendrickson can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com

Editor’s note: Wording has been changed to help clarify the facts of story.