MILWAUKEE — A Milwaukee nurse is sharing her story after being attacked by a patient.
It comes at a time when nurses are already in short supply. This nurse came forward in hopes of stopping this abuse from happening to anyone else.
A new survey from The American College of Emergency Physicians found that more than 8 in 10 emergency physicians believe the rate of violence in emergency rooms has increased.
Milwaukee registered nurse Joni Acala agrees. She says it took more than a month to share with her close friends the attack she endured on Sept. 24.
"They had the hardest time getting her to let go of my hair and you could see her hitting me," said Acala, adding that it took five men to get an irate patient who did not want to leave the emergency room off her. "It was like a street brawl that you would see in a movie."
She says she was grabbed from behind while walking down the hallway past the patient's room.
"The patient ended up grabbing me from behind by my hair. I was punched in the back of the head several times, my fingers broken, which is still broken. I would have to get it surgically repaired."
She says it all happened in a matter of 45 seconds. Acala says it ended with her getting kicked in the jaw.
"So now I have chronic pain in my left ear every time I chew something that's crunchy."
She also has quarter and nickel-sized chunks of her hair missing after the attack.
"I just wear it up now with a headband because of all the spots. You can see it and it makes me self-conscious."
Even worse has been the emotional toll it has taken on her. She says she sought therapy for the first time after the incident.
"I'm not working, I'm not taking in an income."
The mother of two does not want us to identify which hospital she works for. She is taking time to recover and hopes anyone who learns about what happened to her will stop and listen.
"There should be more security," said Acala, adding that at hospitals, especially emergency rooms, "there should be somebody at the door."
Lawmakers in our state have taken notice and passed a law this year, making it a felony to threaten a healthcare worker.
Acala says right now she does not plan on making any decisions about her own future as a nurse. It is a position she has loved for the past nine years.
"I love taking care of people."
She says the patient who attacked her was ordered to go through a treatment program but was never charged.
