Nurse reacts to federal workplace violence investigation at Nationwide Children's Hospital
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WSYX) — Nationwide Children's Hospital is at the center of a federal investigation that found the hospital allegedly did not protect its nurses, leading to serious injuries.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the investigation is in response to a complaint of unsafe working conditions at the hospital's Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion. The investigation started in November of 2022.
A nurse who works at a different hospital in Columbus said he's not surprised by the findings.
"I've been hit, kicked, punched, spit on, cussed at, it happens all too often," said Rick Lucas, a local nurse and Vice President of Ohio Nurses Association.
As a nurse for more than 20 years, Lucas knows the dangers of the job.
"We've seen a pattern of escalating violence in our hospitals, health care workers being assaulted and really suffering severe injury," he said.
According to investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA, Nationwide Children's Hospital did not protect its employees at the Big Lots Behavioral Health Pavilion from violent incidents, and patients allegedly physically and sexually assaulted nurses and mental health specialists, leading to serious injuries.
"It's not okay to have health care workers and really patients put at risk when there's violence in the workplace because it really does harm everyone," Lucas said.
The U.S. Department of Labor reports also found that the hospital did not keep proper, required records of employees' injuries.
"It's really disheartening and shows just how often that happens that, you know, when somebody's assaulted like that, that they just dust it off and go back to work," Lucas said.
Nationwide Children's Hospital sent a statement in response to the investigation:
"The youth mental health crisis has highlighted the complex challenges for behavioral health providers. Our priority is to provide the highest quality care for the children we serve in the safest possible environment for our employees, patients, and families. Nationwide Children’s Hospital is reviewing the findings of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and is working directly with OSHA regarding its concerns. Nationwide Children’s has extensive safety policies, processes, and procedures in place, and our team continually reviews and updates these safety practices."
"It is important that employers follow rules and regulations set forth to keep employees safe," said Larry Johnson, OSHA's Area Director in Columbus.
Johnson said the agency will conduct follow-up inspections at the hospital.
"It's a matter of safety and health and life and death that you correct these hazards," Johnson said.
"We need legislation to hold hospitals accountable because we obviously see that they're not doing it themselves, even knowing that their issues and seeing the harm that's inflicted, they're still not taking it serious enough," Lucas said.
The hospital has 15 business days from the day it received OSHA's citations to comply and pay more than $18,000 or contest the findings.
