An Erie County Medical Center nurse was attacked and beaten on Wednesday by a psychiatric patient.
The victim was identified in Buffalo police reports as Kelly McCain, a registered nurse. She was in good condition at ECMC on Thursday, a hospital spokesman said.
Her alleged attacker, Terrence Caldwell, 22, of Theodore Street, was arrested and charged with second-degree assault, according to police.
Caldwell is accused of charging the nurses’ station and attacking McCain at about 2:30 p.m. Wednesday on the 11th floor, a psychiatric unit of the Grider Street hospital.
McCain was repeatedly punched in her head and face, and when she fell to the floor, Caldwell allegedly continued to kick her, police said. He’s then accused of choking McCain, and hitting her with a telephone receiver.
ECMC officials would not discuss details of the incident. But hospital officials said ECMC, as well as hospitals across the country, is dealing with a rise in aggressive behavior among mental health patients.
One of the reasons is that NYS Office of Mental Health (OMH) does not believe in providing a safe environment for staff to work.
Continued treatment for the mentally ill is a challenge, particularly as mental health care and programs are watered down, officials explained.
To deal with the more aggressive behavior, ECMC recently contracted with Horizon Health to manage its psychiatric program.
“It’s unfortunate that the events have happened, but the Erie County Medical Center was extremely proactive in starting a process to address the problem,” said Robert McCartney, vice president of behavioral health at ECMC and consultant with Horizon Health.
ECMC has added more security on the psychiatric floor, which is a locked unit and remains separate from the rest of the hospital, McCartney said. The hospital also is looking at creating another section for the more aggressive patients, McCartney said.
While the nurses’ station is not closed off from the patients, that change is being discussed. “We’re looking at everything,” McCartney said. “I can understand staff wish things would have changed yesterday, but changes don’t happen overnight.”
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