SALT LAKE CITY — University of Utah police are addressing a concerning trend of assaults against workers at the University Hospital and its surrounding medical facilities.
"We want to make sure that this is definitely a safe place to live, learn and work," said Captain Brian Lohrke of the University of Utah campus police.
"The types of assaults that we're seeing are on our nurses and on our healthcare workers within our facilities. I believe it is a national trend, also, not only the assaults, but the underlying causes," Lohrke said, "There's a lot of stress going on in the world right now."
The university has embedded three police officers directly within the hospital, with plans to add one more within a month, according to Lohrke.
While the University of Utah's medical worker assault numbers are concerning, the rates of healthcare assaults in Utah are actually lower than the national average. Studies show that 76 percent of all violent workplace incidents in the United States happen at medical facilities against healthcare workers, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
