Threats made against nursing staff?! :(

[Aliceozwalker]

I am so sorry to be posting again so soon but a situation just happened that has led to me considering leaving both nursing jobs. This job is definitely the better of the two under normal circumstances.

All staff members at my community job received a message from our manager today. Apparently, the relative from a patient (pt was homeless) who recently died found out that their loved one passed away in our facility and wants the patient's belongings. Since the government was actually involved with this patient and their funeral expenses they stated we needed to hold onto the belongings as they sorted through some things. This led the family member to become enraged when they heard and they started calling the facility screaming/cursing twice so far. The relative was described as sounding "not all there" and possibly "under the influence of alcohol or drugs".  The family member has now started showing up on the premises, pounding on the door. The family member is big, aggressive and we are apparently supposed to contact police if they show up again. The community facility is a very isolated area and there is little to no security. On night shifts, I am in charge and am alone with only two other staff members who are middle-aged women. There is no panic button or alarm system. 

My parents flipped when they heard this story, particularly because it hasn't been the first time something potentially violent has happened. The first incident was that a staff members car was on fire during a night shift. They didn't find the cause of the fire, and the incident was actually in the local newspaper. To be 100% fair this could have been something that the coworker might have done accidentally. The second incident was a man was seen touching himself in the parking lot and asked a staff member "why so many women were going in and out of the building." Sufficient to say, the police were called for the second incident and hauled the guy away. For about two weeks after they started sending patrol cars but then stopped.

My mom is saying that she no longer feels the community facility is safe and wants me to quit immediately. She feels that not enough is being done when these incidents happen and the perpetrators always walk. While incidents have happened at the hospital job they have never been as intense as security has always rushed over to help. But for those who know me, I was actually trying to pick up more hours at the facility so as to avoid the med-surg position which I have come to absolutely hate due to the workload. 

I just really don't know what to do at this point, I don't know if I really should quit my job over this or if it's something (sadly) that a lot of nurses go through and just stick through. I can't believe I am now in a position of not feeling secure in either job and am honestly considering looking into other career paths. What is your honest take on the situation? Would you be honestly leaving the community job or sticking it out? For anyone who has been through something similar, what did you do?

[TriciaJ, RN]

Someone in admin needs to have a talk with Crazy Person and explain to him that the government is involved and he needs to take it up with them.  They also need to take out an order of protection, secure additional police patrols or hire private security.  This is really down to the brass to ensure staff safety.

This is just icing on the cake of what you're currently dealing with.  If you're really considering quitting this job, are you willing to go down fighting?  By that I mean insist that your employer take this seriously and implement the measures above.  If you do end up leaving you might as well go out with a bang, not a whimper.  Good luck.

[FolksBtrippin, BSN, RN]

I loved working in the community. I'll take a grief stricken person banging on the door over a backstabbing malicious coworker any day.

I didn't feel unsafe at my job, but sometimes people I cared about felt unsafe on my behalf. I would tell them what I do to keep myself safe to assure them. They all knew their boundaries with me. They knew I loved my job and the population I serve, so they didn't push me too much. Mom may need to back off, but it's up to you to decide that and tell her so.

About this grief stricken person banging on the door... I can't imagine holding the belongings of a passed loved one. I can only imagine having to hand them over to the police because they were evidence. What exactly is meant by "the government is involved"? Why is that a reason to keep someone's belongings? Your agency may be in the wrong in this case. If the agency is being investigated for this death, it would be wise to be good, kind and understanding to family members.

 

 

 

[TriciaJ, RN]

I can't imagine being grief-stricken enough to want a homeless person's belongings.  What exactly did the patient possess that the police wanted and now someone is banging on the door over?

Why was the person homeless if he had such caring relatives?

In any case, the police need to stay involved until staff have no further reason to feel endangered.  Your management needs to be handling this.  The belongings are no longer on the premises, right?  That needs to be communicated to the family so they can quit wasting time harrassing people who can't help them.

[Closed Account 12345]

1) Your employer needs to put security measures in place to protect you and your peers overnight since they are aware of an active threat.  I think parking lot cameras you can view from the nurses' station and badge-only entry during certain hours would be a good starting place. Until this issue is resolved, having a temporary security guard on site would also be appropriate. 

2) If the guy ever breaks in, give him what he wants. The police can sort it out, and it's not worth endangering your safety.  Physically defending a deceased patient's material belongings isn't a professional nursing skill.

3) No, I would not keep a job where I truly felt unsafe. Your job is just a job. You only get one life. It's not unreasonable to have concerns about a grieving, physically aggressive, seemingly mentally unstable family member showing up and behaving in a threatening manner.