Violent attack at Maplewood hospital prompts demand for more security

Last November, a patient at St. John's Hospital in Maplewood, Minn. went on a violent rampage, surveillance video capturing the attack of 4 nurses with a metal bar ripped from Charles Logan’s hospital bed.

Logan, 68, eventually ran out of the hospital and deputies tried to use a Taser on him. He was placed in handcuffs, and moments later, was unresponsive. He was brought back to the hospital, but was already dead. Police said Logan was delusional, paranoid and thought people were trying to kill him.

Now, more than a year later, security officers at HealthEast hospitals are meeting in St. Paul to demand safe staffing on Wednesday.

"On Wednesday, security officers at HealthEast hospitals will demand a conversation with management about safe staffing," said Kyle McGinn, a security officer at Bethesda Hospital in an AFSCME news release. "Patients, visitors and hospital staff are at risk because security is so short staffed. Assaults like the incident at St. John's could potentially be prevented if security professionals are properly staffed and trained. It's our goal to provide a safe environment where staff can work, patients can heal, and families can visit - without fear of getting hurt.  Right now, we can't realize that goal." 

According to the release, there are two security officers on duty at each of the 4 HealthEast hospitals, one in the emergency room and another outside, “but often it's risky with only one officer working alone.”

YouTube: 4 nurses attacked at Maplewood hospital 

Two of the nurses injured in the assault were hospitalized – one with a collapsed lung. Another nurse, who did not require hospitalization, was 8 months pregnant.

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