05-03-2025
A 67-year-old nurse was beaten at Palms West Hospital. Improve its security.
It was unexpected and unprovoked. Leelamma Lal, a 67 year-old nurse had been treating a patient who suddenly attacked her, fracturing every bone in her face and leaving Lal with the likelihood of blindness the rest of her life.
This type of violence should not be happening in our hospitals. This type of violence should not be happening to our hospital nurses.
Stephen Scantlebury, a patient who had been evaluated for mental-health issues under the state's Baker Act, jumped on top of Lal and hit her repeatedly before fleeing the hospital. He was arrested and charged with attempted murder and a hate crime after authorities learned he had made reference to Lal's gender, race and religion before the attack.
And what did Lal do to deserve such a beating? Absolutely nothing.
That's why her attack has alarmed healthcare workers throughout the county. They believe that hospitals should and can do more to boost security to protect hospital staff. So do we.
Palms West in particular has recently been expanding its operations in western Palm Beach County. The hospital now boasts of an expanded maternity, children's medicine and emergency department. It's planning to build a new $80 million five-story facility for robotic-assisted surgery.
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But the promise of a new and improved services won't matter much if staff and patients lack adequate safety, and don't feel secure.
"No healthcare worker should have to experience such violence," Jason Kimbrell, the CEO of HCA Florida Palms West Hospital said last month to the hospital staff. The words should be welcomed and echoed by every healthcare facility administrator in Palm Beach County. (Even if they come on the heels of an attorney representing Lal's family claiming Palms West lacked appropriate safety measures on the day of the attack.)
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Unfortunately, workplace violence has become a worrying trend in our nation's healthcare facilities. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare workers are five times more likely than other employees to experience some form of workplace violence, including taunts, verbal abuse and physical assaults. Such violence undermines the quality of healthcare overall and potentially, can hurt the bottom line of hospitals and other facilities providing care.
Lal's case is now in the courts. Scantlebury is facing criminal charges and Lal's family is weighing their legal options.
Meanwehile, Kimbrell's words had better carry some real weight in the form of deliberate improvements to hospital security. Not just at Palms West, but all of our healthcare facilities.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palms West Hospital needs security after nurse's beating | Editorial
