WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The brutal attack of a Palm Beach County nurse by a patient at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital last week is hitting close to the heart of health care workers.
During a Thursday hearing for the suspect in the attack, WPTV spoke with a nurse about the concerns the case raises about workplace violence.
Nurse Meghan Marks said she doesn't personally know the victim, Leelamma Lal, but she sat in a Palm Beach County courtroom Thursday afternoon as a judge considered whether to keep the suspect, Stephen Scantlebury, jailed.
"I just felt compelled to stand behind the family, and I really hope that they get justice," Marks said. "It was hard to hear all the details, got a little emotional, more than I expected."
The details revealed at Scantlebury's pretrial detention hearing shed light on the level of security that was in place before Scantlebury allegedly leapt from his hospital bed, beat Lal within inches of her life and then ran out of the hospital.
Multiple people testified at Thursday's hearing, including Lal's daughter, Scantlebury's wife, the director of nursing services at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital and Palm Beach County sheriff's deputies.
According to their testimony, Scantlebury had gone to the hospital seeking treatment for chest pain. While there, he was placed on a psychiatric hold under Florida's Baker Act.
The suspect's wife, Megan Scantlebury, testified that while her husband was getting a CT scan, he jumped out of the machine and ran away. She said she believes that contributed to the Baker Act decision.
Under the Baker Act, patients must be considered a threat to themselves or others.
According to multiple witnesses, Scantlebury was assigned a female "sitter" to keep an eye on him, but there was no security officer assigned to monitor Scantlebury's room, and there were no cameras inside the room.
There was a security guard assigned to the floor, but that guard was managing another situation elsewhere on that floor at the time of the attack.
Vincenzo Averaimo, the nursing director, testified that Baker Act patients should be restrained if they are acting aggressive, but he was unsure of whether Scantlebury had been acting aggressive prior to the attack.
"Overall, we keep seeing more and more of these incidents, and they keep getting worse and worse," Marks said. "I think it's going to need to be a wake-up call not just for the states but nationwide."
WPTV has been requesting HCA Florida Palms West Hospital's policies on managing Baker Act cases. We have also been asking what the hospital has done since the attack to improve safety.
In a letter to hospital staff obtained by WPTV following the attack, Palms West CEO Jason Kimbrell called on Congress to pass legislation to allow harsher sentences for people who attack health care workers.
