Pages

Chicago student arrested for threatening "to kill 16 white male students"

A 21-year-old Chicago man was arrested on Monday for threatening to kill 16 white male students or staff on the University of Chicago in retaliation for the shooting last year of black teenager Laquan McDonald by a white police officer, according to law enforcement officials.

Jabari R. Dean was charged with transmitting a threat in interstate commerce and, if convicted, could face up to five years in prison, the U.S. Attorney in Chicago said in a statement.

The University of Illinois at Chicago said one of its students, living off campus, was arrested for making the threat, which caused the University of Chicago to cancel classes on Monday.

UIC confirmed that Dean, who wore a red school sweatshirt at his initial court appearance, according to a Chicago Sun-Times reporter, is an undergraduate studying electrical engineering and has been enrolled since fall 2015. Dean was ordered held in custody until bond conditions could be determined, likely tomorrow.

When investigators searched the off-campus residence of the UIC student, they found no gun, according to the Sun-Times, which cited a source familiar with the investigation.

According to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI, someone called the agency to report a comment he saw on a website that the Chicago Tribune reported as www.worldstarhiphop.

The writer threatened to shoot and kill students, staff and police on the University of Chicago's campus at 10 a.m. on Monday and then kill himself, citing the fatal shooting last year of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald by a white Chicago police officer, the newspaper said.

The officer, who shot McDonald 16 times, was charged last week with first-degree murder. A judge on Monday set a $1.5 million bond for the officer, Jason Van Dyke.

"This is my only warning. At 10 a.m. on Monday morning, I am going to the campus quad of the University of Chicago. I will be armed with a M-4 carbine and 2 Desert Eagles, all fully loaded. I will execute approximately 16 white male students and or staff, which is the same number of time McDonald was killed," said the commenter, who posted with the initials "JRD" and a Chicago Bulls logo, according to the criminal complaint.

"I then will die killing any number of white policeman that I can in the process. This is not a joke. I am to do my part to rid the world of the white devils. I expect you do the same."

The FBI official who signed the criminal complaint said Dean said he posted the threat from a phone but took it down shortly after posting it, according to the criminal complaint.

University of Chicago President Robert Zimmer cited "recent tragic events on campuses across the country" in the decision to cancel Monday classes. After the arrest, he said the decision to cancel classes would remain in effect for the day and later added normal operations would resume on Tuesday.

College campuses have been the sites of several shootings this year, including an Oct. 1 massacre at Umpqua Community College in Oregon that left 10 dead including the shooter.

The University of Chicago, a private school with about 15,000 graduate and undergraduate students, is south of downtown Chicago.

(Additional reporting by Melissa Fares and Angela Moon in New York; Editing by Ben Klayman and Steve Orlofsky)

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.



http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Chicago student arrested for threatening "to kill 16 white male students" via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1TgJntA

IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe

College enrollment rates are dropping, especially among low-income students

I believe it. Student loans are pretty serious business these days and educational institutions are raising tuition costs are a rate we've never seen before. Graduating university shouldn't be rewarded with a $750/month payment for the next 10 years of your life.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.



http://ift.tt/eA8V8J College enrollment rates are dropping, especially among low-income students via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1IvMFnc

IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe

CBS News finds Peace Corps volunteers blamed, fired after reporting sexual assault

Nearly 7,000 Peace Corps currently serve in about 65 countries. Roughly one in five of them is sexually assaulted during that service, according to the results of a recent anonymous Peace Corps safety questionnaire, obtained exclusively by CBS News.

The report also shows that nearly half don't report the assaults.

Pressure to change a culture of victim-blaming goes back years, but some survivors still claim they are blamed or punished. One volunteer wrote that in reporting an assault, "I made myself a target."

"My thought was they're going to rape me. These men are going to rape me," said Danae Smith, who volunteered in the remote Dominican Republic town of Los Mosquitos for eight months.

In April, two men with machetes forced the 23-year-old off the village's main road. Smith got away and reported the assault to the Peace Corps and within a week, the agency told her she was going home.

"They also told me that my attack had occurred because I had been walking in my site and that as a volunteer, it was my job to have been more proactive to prevent it from happening," Smith said.

More than 500 volunteers have reported experiencing a sexual assault in a little over two years. CBS News spoke with nearly a dozen who questioned how their recent cases were handled. They told us they felt criticized and were threatened they would be fired.

Five years ago, the Peace Corps - a government agency - faced intense scrutiny over its response to sexual assaults. Congress passed a law and the agency's director at the time vowed change.

"I hired a nationally recognized leader in victims' rights to be our first agency's victim advocate," former Peace Corps director Aaron Williams said during a congressional hearing in 2011.

That leader was Kellie Green.

"I'm getting phone calls and I'm getting emails from returned volunteers that are in tears because they can't get the help that they need," Green said.

CBS News found some Peace Corps employees attempting to limit the number of in-country counseling sessions for sexual assault survivors to a maximum of six.

In one 2014 email, a Peace Corps clinical psychologist said of a volunteer: the "need for ongoing therapy is an indication" the volunteer was "not a good fit for Peace Corps Service."

After another volunteer asked for additional counseling, a Peace Corps medical officer sent an email saying, "I'm sure this will make no difference in her behavior."

"I pushed the agency to really do what they have the capability of doing," Green said. "And that's what's so frustrating because they have the ability to do this and it is a choice not to."

Earlier this month, the Peace Corps suspended her without pay for allegedly creating a hostile work environment. But Green says she was punished for standing up for the victims she was hired to protect.

Bonnie Scott was a Peace Corps volunteer in Albania. Earlier this year, she says she alerted Peace Corps that one of its American officials was allegedly sexually assaulting Albanian women.

But shortly after the official sent this email saying he was resigning for personal reasons, the Peace Corps fired Scott for improperly filling out paperwork.

"He was given the option to resign rather than face misconduct charges, which meant that everything would be covered up," said Scott. "They basically kicked me out, 10 days after they let this sex offender just resign," Scott said.

Inspector General reports show multiple cases of Peace Corps personnel - accused in sexual assaults - resigning ahead of administrative action, then being allowed to re-apply to the agency.

A 2014 Inspector General report warned the Peace Corps' screening process for re-hiring was not detecting past misconduct.

One volunteer who admitted to violating the agency's sexual assault policy was later hired to work at the agency's headquarters in Washington, D.C.

"That person is no longer employed by Peace Corps. But I will also say that we are putting in place systems, mechanisms that will make sure that that does not happen again in the future," said Peace Corps director Carrie Hessler-Radelet. "This is unacceptable to us and we are trying to change the culture."

Hessler-Radelet also added 96 percent of volunteers questioned for a sexual assault response quality assurance survey indicated they are "satisfied with their services."

That anonymous survey was sent to 183 people. Just 52 responded.

"We have made enormous progress, but it is a huge task and every single day we are providing better care," Hessler-Radelet said.

But Danae Smith feels only disappointment.

"I feel like Peace Corps failed me every step of the way," she said.

So far, the Peace Corps says it has instituted more than 30 reforms regarding sexual assault, and works to retrain employees who appear unsympathetic to trauma victims.

Green is pursuing whistleblower protection, but the Peace Corps disputes any claims that it retaliated against her.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.



http://ift.tt/1MZYML2 CBS News finds Peace Corps volunteers blamed, fired after reporting sexual assault via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1QPwd99

IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe

An Iraq Vet And A Mother Of 2 Were Victims Of Planned Parenthood Shooting

The two civilians killed in a shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic Friday were Ke'Arre Stewart, a father of two and Army veteran who served in Iraq, and Jennifer Markovsky, a mother of two who was reportedly at the clinic to support a friend.

The attack, which lasted several hours, also killed police officer Garrett Swasey, a father of two. Suspect Robert Lewis Dear is in custody. Dear referenced "baby parts" when he spoke to police after the attack, but police stress that his motives are still unclear.

Police have confirmed that the two civilians killed were "preliminarily identified" as Markovsky and Stewart.

Ke'Arre Stewart, 29, was an Army veteran who served one tour in Iraq, reports The Denver Post. He was originally from Texas, the newspaper says, and leaves behind two children.

His wife told KKTV that all the family wants is justice. On Facebook, Stewart's brother asked for help and support for the family.

My big brother, Ke'Arre Stewart who was killed in the #BLACKFRIDAYSHOOTING @ Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs,...

Posted by Leyonte Ripkearrestewart Chandler on Sunday, November 29, 2015

"He was caring, giving, funny and just a damn good person," Stewart's friend Amburh Butler wrote on a GoFundMe page raising money for his funeral expenses.

Jennifer Markovsky, born in Waianae, Hawaii, also leaves behind two children, reports Hawaii News Now.

"Her family said she was at the Planned Parenthood clinic supporting a friend," HNN reports. "Her friend was shot in the hand."

Markovsky, 36, was "a stay-at-home mom who was devoted to her children," reports the Denver Post. She leaves behind a young son, daughter and her husband, her family tells the paper.

I'm miss you my daughter, life was to short ,

Posted by John Ah-King on Sunday, November 29, 2015

Markovsky's father, John Ah-King, says she was "the most lovable person," the paper reports:

"I couldn't believe it," Ah-King said through sobs. "I just messaged her Thursday to say happy Thanksgiving."

University of Colorado Colorado Springs police officer Garrett Swasey, 44, was killed in Friday's attack.

University of Colorado Colorado Springs police officer Garrett Swasey, 44, was killed in Friday's attack. Courtesy UCCS hide caption

toggle caption Courtesy UCCS

Garrett Swasey, the police officer killed in the attack, also leaves behind two children, a son and a daughter. He was an elder at an evangelical church in Colorado Springs.

Swasey was a champion ice dancer in his youth, reports The Denver Post. After his successful skating career he found his calling in police work, his wife said in a statement.

"Helping others brought him deep satisfaction and being a police officer was a part of him," she wrote. "In the end, his last act was for the safety and wellbeing of others and was a tribute to his life."

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.



http://ift.tt/1lpYXIr An Iraq Vet And A Mother Of 2 Were Victims Of Planned Parenthood Shooting via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1OoUpxA

IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe

Colorado Governor Calls Clinic Rampage 'A Form of Terrorism'

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

submitted by 9_Nines
[link] [1166 comments]

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Colorado Governor Calls Clinic Rampage 'A Form of Terrorism' via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1QOdDyg

IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe

Colorado Governor Calls Clinic Rampage 'A Form of Terrorism'

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

submitted by 9_Nines
[link] [950 comments]

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Colorado Governor Calls Clinic Rampage 'A Form of Terrorism' via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1QOdDyg

IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe

NSA shuts down bulk phone surveillance program today: Under the Freedom Act NSA and law enforcement agencies must get a court order to ask telcos like Verizon to enable monitoring of call records of specific people or groups for up to six months

The U.S. National Security Agency will end its daily vacuuming of millions of Americans' phone records by Sunday and replace the practice with more tightly targeted surveillance methods, the Obama administration said on Friday.

As required by law, the NSA will end its wide-ranging surveillance program by 11:59 p.m. EST Saturday (4:59 a.m. GMT Sunday) and expects to have the new, scaled-back system in place by then, the White House said.

The transition is a long-awaited victory for privacy advocates and tech companies wary of broad government surveillance at a time when national security concerns are heightened in the wake of the Paris attacks earlier this month.

It comes two and a half years after the controversial program was exposed by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden. The move, mandated by a law passed six months ago, represents the greatest reduction of U.S. spying capabilities since they expanded dramatically after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Under the Freedom Act, the NSA and law enforcement agencies can no longer collect telephone calling records in bulk in an effort to sniff out suspicious activity. Such records, known as "metadata," reveal which numbers Americans are calling and what time they place those calls, but not the content of the conversations.

Instead analysts must now get a court order to ask telecommunications companies like Verizon Communications to enable monitoring of call records of specific people or groups for up to six months.

"The act struck a reasonable compromise which allows us to continue to protect the country while implementing various reforms," National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said.

Some Republican lawmakers want to preserve bulk collection until 2017, citing the Nov. 13 Paris attacks in which 130 people died. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the killings.

But any new surveillance measures are unlikely to become law ahead of the November 2016 presidential elections.

A presidential review committee concluded the surveillance regime did not lead to a single clear counter terrorism breakthrough that could be directly attributed to the program.

Metadata collected by the NSA over the past five years will be preserved for "data integrity purposes" through February 29, the White House said.

After that the NSA will purge all of its historic records once pending litigation is resolved.

(Additional reporting by Mark Hosenball; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Andrew Hay)

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.



http://ift.tt/1XlGUo8 NSA shuts down bulk phone surveillance program today: Under the Freedom Act NSA and law enforcement agencies must get a court order to ask telcos like Verizon to enable monitoring of call records of specific people or groups for up to six months via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1NgDAji

IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe

Man in prison for rape convictions cleared by DNA testing after 16 years

UP NEXT

03

]]>

After new DNA evidence cleared him of the crimes and linked them to the notorious "teardrop rapist" Los Angeles judge on Monday overturned the conviction of a man who spent 16 years in prison for sexual assault and other charges. USA TODAY

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.



http://ift.tt/1IioJsJ Man in prison for rape convictions cleared by DNA testing after 16 years via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1OxYM7K

IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe

Planned Parenthood on shooting: we will 'never back away' from mission

Women mourners
Women hold hands during a vigil in a church to mark Friday's shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs. Photograph: David Zalubowski/AP

As investigations continued into the shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs that killed three and wounded nine on Friday, the regional president of the organisation said it would "never back away" from providing healthcare to millions of women.

One police officer and two unnamed civilians died in the attack, for which suspect Robert Lewis Dear, 57, was taken into custody.

According to Planned Parenthood Rocky Mountains president and CEO Vicki Cowart, the region's facilities provide care – including cancer screenings, STD tests and treatment, contraception and abortion – to 103,000 people in Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Wyoming each year.

"We share the concerns of many Americans that the continued attacks against abortion providers and patients, as well as law enforcement officers, is creating a poisonous environment that breeds acts of violence," Cowart said.

"But we will never back away from providing critical health care to millions of people who rely on and trust us every day."

Planned Parenthood said its 28 other regional health centers would remain open while Colorado Springs was closed for investigation.

Dawn Laguens, executive vice-president of Planned Parenthood of America, told the Guardian: "Today, 28 out of 29 of our healthcare centers in Colorado are open. Only that one healthcare center in Colorado Springs is not open today.

"Across the country, thousands and thousands of people are being seen today, this Saturday, as the vast majority most of our healthcare centers are open."

In New York City, police officers remained stationed outside Planned Parenthood locations, despite no known threats being made.

Colorado police said on Saturday they did not know if the two civilians who were killed in the clinic had been patients.

The policeman who was killed was identified on Friday night as Garrett Swasey, a 44-year-old father of two.

Planned Parenthood has said that the 15 staff members in the building at the time of the shooting were unharmed. The Colorado Springs police chief, Pete Carey, was asked at a press conference on Saturday if, in that light, he could confirm the two civilians killed had been patients.

"I frankly just don't know at this point, I'm sorry," he said.

Carey said he expected the names of the victims to be released on Monday, after autopsies are complete.

Officer Swasey had worked as a police officer at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs for six years and was there when he was called to the scene of the clinic shooting.

Swasey was from Massachusetts. His father, John Swasey, told the Boston Globe: "He was a great dad. I mean, a super dad. Everybody in the police department loved him. Anybody who ever met him loved him. He was a great guy, a great person."

Carey said the five officers who were injured in the attack were alert and said he hoped most would be released from hospital on Saturday.

"I am absolutely blessed more officers weren't killed yesterday," Carey said.

Later, a police statement said the four injured civilians had gunshot wounds and were all in good condition. Of the five officers wounded, four were members of the Colorado Springs police department and one was with the El Paso County sheriff's office. All were reported to be in good condition and expected to make a full recovery.

Police confirmed reports that a Bearcat armored vehicle was used to gain "safe entry" to the clinic and then transport the injured away from the scene of the shooting.

"There were 24 other people who were evacuated, unharmed from the Planned Parenthood building," the statement said. "There were 300 people sheltered in place between the King Soopers [grocery store] and surrounding business."

Federal authorities were assisting with the investigation and officials said it was too early to determine a motive.

Robert Lewis Dear
Colorado Springs shooting suspect Robert Lewis Dear of North Carolina is seen in an undated photo provided by the El Paso County sheriff's office. Photograph: AP

Of the suspected gunman, Dear, the statement said: "The suspect lists his residency in Hartsel, Colorado but has ties to North Carolina." An address in Colorado was also being searched. He was scheduled to appear in court on Monday.

Colorado Springs' mayor, John Suthers, said security cameras in the clinic showed the gunman wearing a trench coat and carrying a rifle as he walked calmly through the building.

While the gunman's motive has not been determined, Suthers suggested it was related to Planned Parenthood. He said that while investigators did not know the motive, people could make "inferences from where [the shooting] took place".

Laguens said: "Police are refraining from listing a motive. I won't be at all surprised to find out that someone who is unstable can easily be motivated or manipulated by extreme rhetoric."

Threats and attacks against Planned Parenthood locations and abortion providers became a national issue after the supreme court's Roe v Wade ruling in 1973 made access to abortion a nationwide right.

This year, the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress released videos that purportedly showed Planned Parenthood officials discussing taking money for fetal tissue. The videos angered Planned Parenthood opponents, prompting Republicans in Congress to push for legislation to defund the organization, which provides a wide range of women's healthcare services, not just abortions.

Planned Parenthood leadership has denied wrongdoing by its staff.

Pinterest
Ozy Licano, a witness to Friday's shooting at a Planned Parenthood in Colorado Springs, says he was waiting in his vehicle for an acquaintance in front of the clinic when a gunman opened fire.

On Saturday, Ketanya Craion, a woman who was present at the clinic, told ABC that she was in an exam room when the shooting took place at the facility, which was equipped with an extensive security system that included "safe rooms".

"When I saw him shooting the guns, it looked like he was talking to himself as he was shooting," said Craion.

She said she and other people in the clinic pushed an exam bed against a door and hid.

On Saturday morning, President Obama issued a statement in which he expressed sympathy for the victims and the families of the dead and also considered the subject of gun control.

The president said the US had "to do something about the easy accessibility of weapons of war on our streets to people who have no business wielding them".

"Period," he added. "Enough is enough."

Police officials also said that they could not confirm whether the shooting began inside or outside the clinic, because of the continuing investigation.

  • Additional reporting by Molly Redden

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.



http://ift.tt/21lS0Jo Planned Parenthood on shooting: we will 'never back away' from mission via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1QNwTfk

IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe

Former Rikers island inmate who was beaten won a lawsuit for $450k gets murdered the day before receiving his settlement.

A former Rikers Island inmate and Bloods gangbanger who was awaiting a $450,000 settlement from the city was fatally shot at a Brownsville public-housing complex, authorities said.

Robert Hinton

Robert Hinton — who made headlines in 2012 when it was revealed he had been "hogtied" with shackles and savagely beaten by correction officers — was gunned down outside a building in the Van Dyke Houses just after 11:30 p.m. Thursday, police said.

The 28-year-old Hinton had won his settlement just two months ago. He died at Brookdale Hospital, authorities said.

Investigators still do not have a motive or suspects in the slaying.

"Our hearts are heavy with the news today of our client Robert Hinton's death," said Leo Glickman, whose firm represented Hinton in the lawsuit.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.



http://ift.tt/21mXhAd Former Rikers island inmate who was beaten won a lawsuit for $450k gets murdered the day before receiving his settlement. via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1QMAtpV

IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe

Hundreds of employees at Washington state’s largest psychiatric hospital have suffered concussions, fractures, bruises and cuts during assaults by patients, resulting in millions of dollars in medical costs and thousands of missed days of work.

LAKEWOOD, Pierce County — A psychiatric patient "head-butted" a nurse so hard she fell back and her head was slammed against a door, causing injures that kept her home for three months. An agitated patient knocked a nurse onto a concrete floor, causing injuries that forced him out of work for seven months. A nurse who tried to stop a patient attack was in hurt so seriously that her recovery took more than two years.

Hundreds of employees at Washington state's largest psychiatric hospital have suffered concussions, fractures, bruises and cuts during assaults by patients, resulting in millions of dollars in medical costs and thousands of missed days of work.

In some cases, the attacks led to charges of assault and even attempted murder, according to court records.

Federal regulators have threatened to cut millions in funding at Western State Hospital four times this year over patient safety concerns, and attacks on medical staff have contributed to worker shortages, which they say are the root cause of continuing violence at the 800-bed facility.

Save 75% on a Digital Subscription Today

Attacks on medical staff can have long-lasting effects, said Dr. Joseph Wainer, a hospital psychiatrist.

"After an assault, staff can become frightened of patients," he said. "They never really get over it."

Injured employees missed 41,301 days of work between 2010 and 2014, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration records. And on-the-job injuries forced staff to move to other jobs, like desk work, for 7,760 days during that period.

Workers' compensation insurance paid $6 million in wage and medical costs for claims to injured hospital workers between January 2013 and September 2015, according to records obtained by The Associated Press through a public-records request.

More than half of the 700 injures reported by nurses, psychiatric technicians, counselors, psychiatrists and other workers during that period were caused by violent patient assaults, according to records.

During one attack on Nov. 25, 2014, a staff member pleaded for his life, according to court records.

A patient who was found with a billiard ball inside a sock and a nylon rope — items he said he planned to use on staff — confronted a nurse outside his room and began yelling. He punched the nurse in the head, knocking him to the ground. When another staff member tried to help, a different patient wrapped his arm around the worker's neck.

As he fell to the ground, the worker called out — "Help me, I have kids!" — before losing consciousness, the police report said. The patients were charged with attempted murder and assault.

Staff initiated 711 "code gray" calls — emergency alerts asking for help — in the first six month of 2015, according to a report obtained by the AP. Eleven patients have died at the facility since 2012 in circumstances deemed to be "sentinel events," defined by federal regulators as "an unexpected occurrence involving death or serious physical or psychological injury."

Many of the injured workers end up leaving the hospital, Wainer said.

Nursing supervisor Paul Vilja said hospital officials are filling shifts by implementing mandatory overtime or by hiring temporary and on-call workers who don't know the patients or their treatment plans.

"This is part of the problem," Vilja said. "They approach patients in a way that sets them off."

Wainer, the psychiatrist, added: "It's not their fault, this job requires a lot of experience."

And until recently, some medical staff couldn't call for help during an attack.

The state has cited the hospital three times for safety violations since 2013 and ordered $49,550 in fines. The most recent citation, in January, was for failing to provide staff with dependable safety devices that could be used to alert others during assaults.

The personal alarm pendant system they were using didn't cover some "blind spots" inside buildings, including some kitchens, hallways, courtyards, elevators and stairwells, inspectors said. It also didn't work outside on the hospital grounds.

Those defects in the system resulted in serious attacks.

"Employee was cornered yesterday and sexually assaulted," an inspector wrote in her January report. "Nobody heard her calling for help."

The state Department of Social and Health Services reached a settlement with regulators in June by promising to upgrade its campus' two-way radio system, add security mirrors, make sure safety pendants have fresh batteries and require monthly training sessions.

Victoria Roberts, deputy assistant secretary for the state agency that oversees the hospital, said the state has been working to make conditions safer at the hospital, but staffing problems and the nature of the facility make it tough.

"You've got a lot of high-risk patients coming into a setting where there are staffing issues and a high turnover rate," she said. "We have a large number of committed staff, and they're doing their best with limited resources."

Wainer said the number of assaults on medical staff is increasing and the "superficial efforts" being made by officials to fix the problems are having little effect. The most pressing problem — staff shortages — hasn't been resolved, and the lack of workers means shifts are so busy that few have time to attend safety training sessions, he said.

"We've endured, as much as possible," Wainer said.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service - if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at http://ift.tt/jcXqJW.



http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Hundreds of employees at Washington state's largest psychiatric hospital have suffered concussions, fractures, bruises and cuts during assaults by patients, resulting in millions of dollars in medical costs and thousands of missed days of work. via top scoring links : news http://ift.tt/1kYZe5w

IFTTT

Put the internet to work for you.

Turn off or edit this Recipe