Texas Nurses Association Response to Today's Tragedy at Methodist Dallas Medical Center

“Our hearts are broken,” said Dr. Serena Bumpus, RN, CEO of the Texas Nurses Association. “These are our colleagues and friends. The entire TNA family grieves this loss and we extend our condolences to the families and coworkers of the victims.”

“This is unacceptable,” said Bumpus. “No person should fear for their life for merely going to work, especially a nurse or healthcare worker whose passion is to help others heal. We hope our legislators understand that we need to protect our healthcare workers.”

TNA, in coalition with other nursing and healthcare organizations have made curtailing workplace violence a priority in previous legislative sessions with little success. It has already been established as a top priority for the approaching 88th legislative session.

Incidents of workplace violence have been steadily increasing since before the pandemic, and the rate of 12.7 violent events per 10,000 full-time workers is about three times greater for RNs than all other professions, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A recent Press Ganey report showed that, on average, two nurses were assaulted every hour in the second quarter of 2022. That translates to about 57 assaults per day across the U.S.

“As the Dallas Police Department and Methodist Hospital investigate this incident we stand in unity with the victims and all those affected by this tragedy and ask that the community come together in support of our nurses at this time,” said Bumpus.