Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/908020
53 HEALTHCARE NEWS Man Shoots, Kills Mother in ICU of Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center By Molly Gamble A man shot and killed his 70-year-old mother in the ICU of Dart- mouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, N.H., Sept. 12. e incident, which occurred on the hospital's fourth floor at ap- proximately 2 p.m. EST, le the academic medical center issuing a Code Silver alert, evacuating ambulatory patients and staff, and going into lock- down, according to Dartmouth-Hitchcock spokesperson Mike Barwell. More than 100 first responders attended to the area. Police apprehended the suspect, 49-year-old Travis Frink of Rhode Island, by 2:49 p.m. EST as he was trying to leave the hospital campus and took him into custody. He is charged with first-degree murder and expected to face a judge in Graon County Superior Court Sept. 13, according to WMUR Manches- ter. Investigators have not released information about Mr. Frink's motive, although New Hampshire Attorney General Gordon MacDonald did note Mr. Frink's main purpose in visiting the hospital was apparently to shoot his mother, according to WMUR. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the patient who died," Dartmouth-Hitchcock President and CEO Joanne Conroy, MD, wrote in a memo to staff. "We will work closely with local and state law enforce- ment to learn how this happened, so that we can ensure this will never happen to one of our patients ever again." Dr. Conroy applauded the D-H team for following instruction and abid- ing by their training for emergencies as they either evacuated the hospital premises or sheltered in place indoors. e hospital was cleared by police and security and the building reopened around 5:10 p.m. EST. "You became very creative over the hours…one team set up a MASH unit in the parking lot and saw over 40 patients, removed stitches, changed dressings and scheduled those patients to return later this week for follow-up," she wrote. "For those that sheltered in place, thank you for the care and comfort you gave to patients and their families during this stressful time." Resources are being deployed to assist physicians, nurses and other staff who witnessed the incident and may be impacted, Mr. Barwell said. All clinical operations at the hospital have resumed as normal. n U of Utah Hospital Limits Police Access to Patient Rooms after Aggressive Nurse Confrontation By Alia Paavola S alt Lake City-based University of Utah Hospital changed its protocol to limit police access to patient care areas after a nurse was forcibly arrested for refusing to allow an investigator to draw blood from an unconscious patient without a warrant, according to NPR. Under the new protocol, officers must check in to the front desk of the hospital and are required to consult house supervisors for law enforce- ment requests rather than nurses. In addition, law enforcement is not permitted in certain patient care areas including the emergency room and burn unit. "Law enforcement who come to the hospital for any reason involving patients will be required to check in to the front desk of the hospital," CNO Margaret Pearce of the University of Utah Hos- pital told NPR. "There, a hospital 'house supervi- sor' will meet the officers to work through each request." Hospital officials implemented the new policy in August, a few days after the incident July 26 and before the arrest became public, according to The Washington Post. "University of Utah Health supports nurse Alex Wubbles, RN, and her decision to focus first and foremost on the care and well-being of her pa- tient," says Suzanne Winchester, University of Utah Health media relations manager, in a statement emailed to Becker's. Two law enforcement agents involved the confron- tation July 26 have been placed on administrative leave pending the results of an investigation into the incident. n