Nurse shot in California

[JohnRN]

(Perris, California-AP) Dec. 25, 2004 - An 87-year-old man allegedly shot a nurse at a Southern California convalescent center.
Authorities say he was angry about the care a relative was receiving. The nurse, who was shot at close range, is in critical condition.

The shooting happened at the Ember Care Health Center in Perris, about 70 miles southeast of Los Angeles. A witness says Norman Larson threatened to shoot another nurse.

The witness told KABC-TV that the other nurse was made to get on her knees and beg for her life. She's said to have told Larson that it was Christmas and that she had kids.

The witness says Larson let her go. Larson was arrested after being detained by center employees.

Some people are ****ing nuts! If that guy were a regular 87 year old, age be ****ed, I would've taken him down. A broken hip is easier to treat than being critical for GSW!

If he's so spry and agile maybe he ought to be the one providing for care at home! It bothers me that I could potentially be that nurse tomorrow...

[conlor]

Sad it happened at Christmas time, not that it should happen any time.

People get very intense about their health and the health of their loved ones. I see it at work all the time too. Some people get really angry and the staff needs to know how to talk them down. You, who'll have direct contact with the patients and families, will especially need to be aware of how they're feeling about the care given. It's not all that unusual for someone to become enraged.

[JohnRN]

It's increasingly becoming a pet peeve of mine - healthcare has become overtly consumer-oriented and not patient-oriented ... the way it should be.

[conlor]

That's true. But the individual staff members can still choose how they treat the patients and family. They say not to get too involved in their personal lives, and that's true also, but that doesn't mean you can't help them while they're seeking care.

[Hoss68]

WTF was he doing with a gun in there anyways?!?!? Fry him~ I don't care how old he is either.

When I worked in a hospital, we always knew who was going to be the lead if the situation turned bad and someone needed to be talked through it or down. Nick was a big guy, but too young and inexperienced in life. Shawn was arrogant and pushy with patients and staff.

I don't care if you work in the cafeteria, the information desk, a nurse or a doctor~ You need social skills to work in the health care field on any level. Empathy and compassion are a necessity not an option.

[Betty Boop]

John., I wasn't kidding about the time I was working in the ER when the distraught and homeless man came in with the shotgun. Desparate people do crazy things in the least expected of places. How the unit secretary/ward clerk had the calm enough about her to secure the entrances and alert security (and thus the local police) from the lobby area (panic buttons beneath the desk) into the main unit still amazes me. After that the open area of patient contact with admitting and hospital personnel was sealed up with bullet-proof see-through partitions. She did after about an hour and 45 talk the man into putting down his weapon and fortunately she was the only person in the lobby/reception area besides this (as I remember, older middle-aged) man. She was in the Los Angeles County Nursing School at the time - I bet she became an awesome nurse (I got married and moved on before she graduated)! But oh, it was a very scary situation for everyone in the department at the time as no one could enter or leave the department once it had been secured.

[Snowden]

This is especially pertinent to me today, with my sister-in-law in great pain because of her broken hip. Her husband is about at the breaking point; a former Marine, he is not apt to break - but he is also in his mid-80's and they have only each other. No children, nobody close to buoy up his spirits because we don't dare carry this flu to them. I dont have it, but could and most likely would carry it.

Some people do reach the breaking point, and we really don't know what that is with any particular person - including ourselves. Fortunately, he is a most sane man, no weapons any more, but the break could cause him another heart attack, and I doubt he could survive it all.