HCA Florida Palms West Hospital Add from the work area for law enforcement authorities

The Palm Beach County Hospital, where a nurse was brutally attacked by a patient last month Makes plans to increase the presence of law enforcement there.

From Monday, HCA Florida Palms West Hospital announced that it will have a special work area for the MPs of the Sheriff of Palm Beach County in his emergency room.

Observe below: Palms West Hospital Add work stations for MPs

“This work station offers a place to take care of paper stuff and access resources without returning to the main office and at the same time improving the presence of the law enforcement authorities in the hospital,” said Louis Lochte, spokesman for the East Florida division from HCA Florida, in an e -mail to WPTV. “We will also continue to use and plan our security company to add additional contractual PBSO members.”

WPTV replied with the following questions, but Lochte said he couldn't answer them at that time:

• How long has this plan in progress? Have the discussions for the workstation after the attack on nurse Leelamma Lal or before?
• What is the workstation primarily used for?
• How will this security go to the hospital as a whole?
• Will there be committed MPs who occupy the hospital?
• Has HCA Florida dedicated to law enforcement authorities in other hospitals? If so, which hospitals? Are there plans to install more hospital work stations for law enforcement?

Stephen Scantlebury, the patient who was accused of attacking LAL, was under a psychiatric support in Palms West and was in a patient room on the third floor – not in the emergency room.
WPTV called for an interview with Sheriff Ric Bradshaw about the new workstation. A spokeswoman for a sheriff office said in an e -mail that the agency would take part in the hospital CEO next week.

“The room was provided for us to stop by and report if we can,” said the spokeswoman. “The session to stop deputies off -to Duty is planned for next week.”

“It is definitely a step in the right direction, and it definitely helps,” said Christie Jandora, elected President of the Florida Emergency Nurses Association. “Is it 100% a prevention measure? Absolutely not.”

Jandora and other Ena members who spoke to WPTV welcome a presence of the law enforcement authorities in the emergency room, but more needs to be done to prevent violence in hospitals.

“I think that goes back if there is not enough resources or facilities for mental health to worry about the amount of mental patients that are out there,” said Jandora. “If you are not in facilities that have the right safety data, everyone is at risk.”