Latest news with #hospitalsecurity
CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
Pennsylvania man called for beheading of Florida hospital CEO with guillotine, officials say
A man from Oakmont, Pennsylvania, is accused of threatening and harassing the CEO of Tampa General Hospital in Florida. In a news release on Tuesday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida said 63-year-old Lawrence Brunn was charged with cyber harassment in connection with the CEO, identified as "J.C." The U.S. Attorney's Office said Brunn has been harassing the CEO of Tampa General Hospital "at least as far back" as 2023. The news release said his online harassment escalated in frequency and intensity over the last two years, including Brunn calling for the execution of the CEO and his beheading with a guillotine. One post said the CEO "should have his head chopped off" and he "should be scared…of we the people," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. The Pennsylvania man is also accused of sending mail to the CEO's residence, his neighbors' homes and the Tampa General Hospital board of trustees. According to the court filing, the CEO feared for his life and the lives of his family members. Since the threats, the CEO has employed a full-time security detail to monitor his home and his travels, the federal complaint said. Officials said Brunn previously worked with the CEO at Jupiter Medical Center in Jupiter, Florida, and he was fired in 2014 after he falsely accused the hospital's chief financial officer of embezzling funds. After his firing, authorities said he harassed Jupiter Medical Center, leading to a lawsuit. If convicted of cyber harassment, authorities said the Pennsylvania man faces up to five years in prison. The FBI investigated the case, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Oakmont is about 15 miles northeast of Pittsburgh.
RNZ News
09-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Physical and verbal abuse at hospitals becoming routine
In April there were three incidents in one night involving health workers from Palmerston North hospital. Photo: A leading advocate for junior doctors says she is dreading the day when a hospital worker is killed. After a staff member was held up at gunpoint outside Palmerston North Hospital in April , RNZ has heard from many health workers who do not feel safe on the job. Health New Zealand says it is continuously improving security, and taking on feedback about this, but unions representing hospital workers say problems persist. New Zealand Resident Doctors' Association national secretary Dr Deborah Powell said junior doctors, who were often on the frontlines at emergency departments, were reporting physical and verbal abuse at work becoming routine. "The day we have a death is the day the unions dread. We'd all prefer we don't have to face that day and we've kept our people safer than that." Nurses Organisation delegates have called for beefed up powers for hospital security officers, but Powell said that could be problematic. She raised the possibility of a police presence in emergency departments, or fast responses to calls from there. The security boost in some emergency departments was helping, but there were bigger problems behind people's growing frustrations, such as the hospitals themselves. "If you've got a cramped, crowded ED, if you don't have rooms to put whānau in who are having a rough time with whatever's happening to their family member, or if you've got people who have mental distress and we don't have a quiet place where we can talk with them, it escalates the level of agitation and likelihood of assaults." Respect towards health workers going about their business also needed to return, she said. "It's not their fault we're in the constrained environment we're in." In April a health worker in Palmerston North was held up at gunpoint after she left the hospital on a late shift. Police are still investigating. On the same night another staff member there was knocked unconscious. RNZ has since learned of a third incident that night, where police were called when a person threatened staff in the emergency department. There have also been assaults of hospital workers reported in Auckland and Christchurch this year . NZ Nurses Organisation Palmerston North delegate David Goldstone wanted to see security guards get more powers to intervene when trouble occurs. They are currently left to calm a situation without force. "If it did happen it would make the staff feel safer. They'd have security guards with powers that could actually do something. "Today you've got security guards standing around an abusive, aggressive person waiting for police, because they can't do anything." Fellow Nurses Organisation delegate Jane Swift said hospital staff were left to deal with situations as best they could until enforcement arrived. "We need police to respond quickly. We would like to see the security guards have more powers to take action accordingly, and we would like to see the police respond so that staff are not left in those vulnerable positions." Goldstone said police had sometimes taken up to two hours to arrive when called. "If you've got somebody going off for two hours that's a long time in a ward, making the other patients vulnerable." Police Superintendent Kelly Ryan, the director for emergency communications and dispatch, said there were standard procedures for emergency call management anywhere. "Outside of emergency situations, police has a threshold for what work requires a police response and what doesn't. "This ensures police is only involved where it's appropriate, due to an offence, violence or immediate risk to life or safety, and other agencies are clear on their roles and responsibilities. It also means police has more time to do the work that only police can, and which the community expects them to do." Health NZ group director of operations for the MidCentral District Sarah Fenwick said increased security remained in place at Palmerston North Hospital, as did arrangements allowing afternoon and night staff to get to their cars safely. "We are unable to give more powers to our security guards, who are required to operate within the confines of the law. However, we are doing our best to make sure our staff and patients feel safe and that our security team are supported in this." Improving security was a continuous process. "We are constantly reviewing and checking feedback on the solutions we have put and in place and are committed to providing a safe environment for our staff and our community." A government funding boost had allowed it to provide more than 40 full-time-equivalent security guards across its biggest hospitals and "surge capacity" at the likes of Palmerston North Hospital when there was high need, Health NZ said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
06-07-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Security regulator warns against hospital security guards doubling as cleaners
By Jeremy Wilkinson, Open Justice multimedia journalist of Concerns have been raised about hospital security guards doubling as cleaners. Photo: 123RF Security guards at two rural hospitals are doubling as cleaners, leading to concerns about the safety of patients and hospital staff. The integrated model meant ISS Facility Services Limited's employees contracted to do security work at Health New Zealand-operated hospitals in Te Kūiti and Tokoroa could also pick up cleaning and orderlies duties on the same shift. The model was highlighted in a recent Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority (PSPLA) decision in which the head of the authority, Trish McConnell, raised concerns about the dual workload. "...where a security threat arises, the sooner appropriately trained security guards respond, the more likely it is for the situation to be resolved without serious harm," McConnell wrote. "If the security guard is working in another part of the hospital as a cleaner or orderly when a security risk arises, there are likely to be delays in them being able to respond and remove the person or deescalate the incident. "This has the potential of putting staff and other members of the public at greater risk of harm." McConnell's concerns were prompted by a report by Department of Internal Affairs' Complaints Investigation and Prosecution Unit (CIPU) which received an unrelated complaint about ISS and its security licenses. The basis of the licensing complaint was later found to be a misunderstanding by the company and a penalty was not issued. CIPU diverged from the complaint in its report and addressed the dual working model. It said that it wasn't illegal but a legislative change should be made. Echoing CIPU's concerns, McConnell said in her decision that the model reduced the effectiveness of security guards and "has potential health and safety risks". "The integrated model used in ISS's contract with Health New Zealand fails to recognise the key preventative role security guards play in hospital security by merely being present in waiting areas, emergency departments and other areas where pressure can be high," she said. "Just having a security guard visibly on duty can significantly reduce security situations arising and volatile situations escalating." The dual model was a practice the New Zealand Nurses Organisation (NZNO) also described as being a risk to patients and hospital staff. "Every nurse has the right to go home safe from work, and patients shouldn't be injured in hospitals," NZNO health and safety spokesperson John Crocker told NZME. "Healthcare workers suffer disproportionate violence at work, and Te Whatu Ora has moral and legal obligations to keep them safe." Crocker said in some rural towns, police staffing was often limited, so hospitals relied on the protection of security guards while on shift. McConnell said the PSPLA did not have the jurisdiction to limit the scope of someone's contract. But she suggested HNZ considered her comments in its contracting arrangements. Stephanie Doe, HNZ director of operations for hospital and specialist services in the Waikato, said while the integrated model was still in place at the hospitals, opportunities were being explored to adjust it, particularly around the overnight shifts. "We will actively engage with our teams and unions to support people to feel safe at work, with a view to implementing changes over the next month." Doe said security staff at Tokoroa and Te Kūiti hospitals were on site around the clock and were in the vicinity of the emergency department and ward at night. -This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald .
RNZ News
21-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Hospital security increased after student midwife attacked leaving work
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Health chiefs have increased security at Christchurch Hospital's birthing unit after a student midwife was attacked on the way to their car after leaving work. The staff member was targeted after their shift at the Antigua Street unit in the central city, although the assault did not happen on hospital grounds. College of Midwives chief executive Alison Eddy said Health New Zealand was doing all it could to ensure the safety of staff. "I understand that the facility does have security staff available to escort staff back to their cars, there's absolutely that provision in place," she said. "I think sometimes people might have to wait a little bit to get access to that and people might feel they don't want to do that. But I understand the facility does everything it can to support the safety of its staff and does make that service available already, and in response to this attack . . . they've stepped up even more support and security to prevent any potential risks." The attack highlighted the risks women faced in Aotearoa, Eddy said. "It's a reflection sadly that we know females are at risk of violence and dark places around hospitals are risky places. That's just the reality of being a female, sadly, in this country. This facility is really aware of that and has done and is continuing to do everything it can to support the safety of everybody who works in those facilities," she said. An email was circulated to staff outlining what had happened, although Health New Zealand would not share details with RNZ because it was not "public information". Waitaha Canterbury director of operations Hamish Brown said the staffer involved was being "well supported". "As a precaution we have increased security measures in this part of the campus to ensure staff, and others who work here, get to their vehicles safely at night," he said. "We continue to remind staff, and others, to take appropriate safety precautions when they leave the hospital campus at night. "At Health NZ, the safety and well-being of our staff, and other workers, is a critical part of delivering quality health care to New Zealanders. We take violence and aggression seriously and our people should expect to come to work and be safe. We encourage them to report all incidents of abuse and assault." Police said the attack did not appear to have been reported to them. "We encourage anyone who is the victim of an assault to make a report online or by calling 105 so police can make enquiries," a spokesperson said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
