Healthcare workers in the US are being equipped with panic buttons amid a rise in assaults from patients and their families, a problem that has worsened during the Covid-19 pandemic. At Cox Medical Center Branson in Missouri, more than 300 panic buttons will be provided to staff over the next two months, funded by a $132,000 grant from the Skaggs Foundation.
Registered nurse Laura Paul described an incident in 2019 when a sedated patient suddenly became violent. 'He went from out cold to swinging in a matter of seconds,' she said. Paul screamed for help and a nurse in an adjacent room heard her, enabling staff to sedate the patient. She believes the panic buttons could help in such situations.
Lynne Yaggy, chief nursing officer at the hospital, noted an escalation in violence: 'There has always been violence against healthcare workers, but what I have seen is an escalation of that in intensity and in the number of incidents.' Some hospitals have limited public entrances, and nurses in Idaho have reported feeling scared to go to the grocery store in their scrubs due to conspiracy theories about vaccines.
A survey by National Nurses United of 5,000 nurses found that about three in ten reported an increase in violence at work, up from two in ten in March. Factors include staff shortages and visitor restrictions. However, experts caution that panic buttons are not a cure-all. Judy Arnetz, a professor at Michigan State University, said hospitals must also train staff in de-escalation techniques and implement incident reporting systems.
William Mahoney, president of Cox Branson hospital, said safety has become a top priority for staff considering employment. The panic buttons are part of a broader effort to improve safety, but as Arnetz noted, 'There is no one simple solution.'
