Hospital to issue panic buttons as assaults on workers rise

A Missouri hospital is set to distribute panic buttons to all staff members following reports of increased assaults on workers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cox Medical Center Branson said that it will use grant money to fund the panic buttons, which can be worn by its nearly 400 employees. The buttons, once pushed, will alert hospital security and launch a tracking system so that employees who are in danger can receive help, according to The Associated Press.

Data recorded from 2019 to 2020 showed that “security incidents” at the hospital surged from 94 to 162, the AP noted. The number of assaults on health care workers at the hospital also reportedly jumped from 40 to 123 during the same time frame and related employee injuries rose from 17 to 78.

As the delta variant of the coronavirus surges across the country, the Branson hospital has reached near capacity over the past four months, increasing stress on staff, according to the AP.

Alan Butler, CoxHealth’s director of safety and security, told the news service that introducing panic buttons to the hospital will “fill a critical void.”

“Personal Panic Buttons are one more tool in the battle to keep our staff safe and further demonstrate this organization’s commitment to maintaining a safe work and care environment,” Butler said.