MI Hospital Workers Report Threats, Punches, Spitting

The Michigan Advance reports:

When Tom Kelsch heads to his job as a registered nurse in Mercy Health Muskegon’s emergency department, he knows, almost without a doubt, that he’ll be threatened by a patient or their family that day.

He knows he may see someone’s fist in his face, as has happened in the past, or have to endure a barrage of angry words screamed at him. “I get threatened every day at work,” said Kelsch. “They say, ‘I know where you live; I’ll be visiting you.’ They say they’re going to come and kill me; they say, ‘I know where you park and what you drive.’ It’s pretty awful what we deal with. I’ve been spit on.”

Across Michigan, doctors, nurses and other medical professionals spoke to the Advance about workplaces increasingly filled with aggressive and violent patients and their family members: people who are angry over pandemic policies, such as mask requirements and visitor restrictions, and take it out on those trying to save their lives.

Read the full article. It’s really something.

“A year and a half ago, people were sending us party trays and food. All of a sudden, we’re kind of the enemies. We’re taking the brunt of families’ anger,” said Dr. Matthew Trunsky. via @MichiganAdvance https://t.co/K3u7WnDt8o

— Susan J. Demas ? (@sjdemas) October 5, 2021