Nurse Beaten by Patient Denied Request for Unpaid Time Off and Fired

Melissa Mills, BSN

In 2018, TIna Suckow, a 49-year old nurse, was brutally beaten by a patient at a state mental facility in Iowa. Suckow had been employed there for over 4 years when the incident occurred. A "code red" alert was issued, and multiple staff members responded, one of whom was Suckow.

A patient, who is said to have been in a manic episode, was throwing furniture and threatening physical violence. Staff members brought in a "turtle shield,” an assault-protection device the facility had recently purchased, but not yet trained staff to use. Shortly after this device was brought out, Suckow became trapped between the shield and the patient. She was then beaten unconscious and hospitalized with injuries to her shoulder, knee, and head. She has undergone several surgeries and continues to need medical treatment today.

During the incident, officials at the facility didn't call law enforcement to investigate the situation, which has left Suckow feeling like a target. "I'm not the criminal here,” said Suckow, "I didn't do anything wrong.” The Nursing Director at the facility, Georgeanne Cassidy-Westcott sent an email two days after the incident informing staff about the opportunity to use the "turtle shield" and stated that while they had not trained on the use of the device, it was "fairly effective" when used in this situation.

Suckow contends that during her time off, she was not treated fairly. She reports that other staff who were off for medical reasons were allowed to send in paperwork electronically. However, Suckow was required to make a two-hour round-trip drive to deliver her paperwork in person.

After her federally mandated time-off ended, Suckow made two requests. First, she requested catastrophic leave, which would allow other employees to donate sick time so that Suckow could extend her time on payroll. This was denied. Her second request was for time off without pay. However, the state rejected this request as well and is protected to do so under a 2017 state law that limits government employee unions to negotiate on the employees' behalf for anything except pay.

According to a ucomm blog article, the union reports that terminations and forced resignations have tripled since the 2017 law went into effect. Some people in Iowa believe this number is low because it doesn't account for state workers who have been forced to resign and others who like Suckow, have been injured on the job. In fact, Suckow's state employment record doesn't even list her as being terminated.

Another result of this legislation is that hospitals are now struggling more with being understaffed, which places patients and workers at risk of more safety concerns. Danny Homan, president of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees Iowa Council 16 told the Des Moines Register, "Any reasonable human being should have concern because if it's OK for the state of Iowa to treat workers this way, then Casey's can do it, Ruan can do it, any employers in the state of Iowa can do it.”

Even in light of this horrific situation that Suckow has endured, lawmakers still support the 2017 law. State Rep Steven Holt, helped to get the bill passed. He believes the changes have created a fairer balance between workers' rights and government operations. He told the Des Moines Register, "There are plenty of horror stories to go around in the old system as well.” Holt also believes that a connection between unfair treatment by managers can't be tied to the law.

Should lawmakers and citizens of Iowa accept the 2017 law because it's not "worse" than the previous law? Or, should the union and the employee have more rights in this situation?

Nurse Beaten by Patient Denied Request for Unpaid Time Off and Fired

About Melissa Mills, BSN

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