Brutal Attack on Nurse at Florida Hospital, Suspect Arrested
A man has been arrested after deputies say he attacked a nurse at HCA Palms West hospital in Loxahatchee on Tuesday.
The suspect, Stephen Scantlebury, 33, faces a charge of attempted second-degree murder in the attack.
According to a probable cause affidavit, that attack occurred at about 1:20 p.m. inside a third-floor patient room at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital.
The suspect was at the hospital under Florida's Baker Act and being cared for by the nurse.
Investigators said Scantlebury "inexplicably" jumped on top of his bed and then jumped onto and attacked the victim.
A witness to the attack then ran out of the room and called for help.
According to the report, when help arrived, a second witness saw Scantlebury standing over the nurse, who was lying on the floor, hitting the victim repeatedly in the face with his fists.
The second witness yelled at the suspect and he stopped hitting the nurse and ran out of the room.
Hospital staff were made aware of the situation as Scantlebury proceeded to flee across the hospital floor, down a stairwell, across the parking lot and into traffic on Southern Boulevard.
WPTV received a video from a viewer that showed the suspect walking shirtless on Southern Boulevard with what looked to be ECG leads still attached to his chest.
Palm Beach County deputies responded to the scene at took Scantlebury into custody.
The affidavit said the nurse was taken by Trauma Hawk medical helicopter to St. Mary's Medical Center due to the severity of her injuries, which were described as critical.
"Essentially every bone in the victim's face is broken and the victim is likely to lose the use of both eyes," according to the affidavit.
Because of the extent of the victim's injuries, she was unable to provide a statement to investigators.
A third witness told detectives that Scantlebury "has been acting paranoid" for the last two days, blaming people in his life about events they had nothing to do with.
HCA Florida Healthcare released the following statement on the attack:
"Our primary concern is with our beloved colleague and we are praying for her recovery. We are also providing support to our hospital staff who are understandably shaken by this incident. The attack on our nursing colleague happened within a matter of seconds and was witnessed by multiple people who came to assist. We are grateful to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office who acted to detain the suspect and we are assisting law enforcement in their investigation."
Original article from WPTV News.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Safety in the workplace is vital. For continuing education on various workplace safety topics, view the courses below:
- Bioterrorism Events
- OSHA Hazard Communication
- Positive Fire and Life Safety Practices
- Recognizing Impairment in the Workplace
- Staffing: An Ongoing Barrier
- Violence Against Nurses: The New Epidemic
- Violence in the Emergency Department
- Workplace Violence Prevention for Healthcare Professionals
Pedagogy's courses are available for purchase by the individual or facility. For individuals, register with us to create your username and password, click on the course title of interest, and then click the Purchase button. For a complete listing of all our online continuing education courses, including the largest selection of infusion continuing education courses offered online, click here!
For organizations that would like to purchase education for their entire staff, email sales@pedagogyeducation.com and let us know the course(s) of interest and how many staff members you need to provide education for, and we will be happy to send you a price quote.
