Hospital officials held a meeting Monday to address safety issues after a nursing staff member was recently attacked on the job in Gardner.
The meeting came a week after officials said David Nichols, 76, allegedly stabbed a nurse with a pocket knife while he was a patient in an emergency room at Heywood Hospital on Monday, June 12.
The nurse was taken to a hospital in Worcester to be treated and is recovering.
Speaking on Monday morning, Heywood Hospital Director of Emergency Services Dr. Ellen Ray said their workplace is unsafe.
“We work kind of in the trenches, as we call it,” Ray said. “And, basically on a daily basis, we are exposed to physical threats and violence.”
Ray said, over the past few years, the Heywood Hospital Emergency Department has seen a significant increase in violence.
Hospital administrators have emphasized a no-tolerance policy regarding violent behavior within the hospital.
Last week’s incident happened around 8 p.m. last Monday. In court a day later, prosecutors said Nichols allegedly stabbed his nurse in the neck, narrowly missing her carotid artery.
Prosecutors requested a high bail for Nichols, citing a six-page criminal history dating back decades.
Nichols’ attorney, though, pitched a different story to the judge, describing a man suffering from psychiatric and physical issues who is currently in hospice with six months to live.
Nichols pleaded not guilty and was being held on $100,000 cash bail as of last Tuesday. He is due back in court next month.
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