A hostage situation erupted at a Pennsylvania hospital, underlining the alarming trend of rising violence against healthcare professionals in the United States. This incident occurred at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York County, where 49-year-old Diogenes Archangel-Ortiz armed with a gun and zip ties, took several staff members hostage in the intensive care unit. The confrontation, which took place over the weekend, resulted in the death of a police officer and injuries to five others, including a doctor, nurse, custodian, and two additional officers. Police opened fire while the suspect was holding a woman hostage.
Authorities report that Archangel-Ortiz had previously been in contact with the ICU for medical reasons related to another individual, suggesting that his actions were premeditated. The rising incidents of violence in hospitals have become a growing concern, particularly in emergency rooms, maternity wards, and intensive care units, as noted by hospital security expert Dick Sem. He has observed a marked increase in public confrontations and violence against healthcare personnel.
Sem emphasized the troubling trend he has noticed, stating, “Many people are more confrontational, quicker to become angry, quicker to become threatening.” Formerly serving as the director of security and crisis management for Waste Management and currently a vice president at Pinkerton/Securitas, he regularly hears from nurses about daily abuse and harassment in the workplace. In many hospital attacks, the aggressor often specifically targets a particular individual due to grievances, unlike random mass shootings that occur elsewhere, which tend to lack focused motivations.
Megan Foltz, a nurse at nearby WellSpan Health where some victims were treated, expressed her concerns about violence within healthcare facilities. Drawing from her nearly two decades of experience, she pointed out that critical care environments are inherently emotional, often filled with individuals dealing with loss, violence, or substance abuse. “If you step away from a bedside to run, to hide, to keep safe, you’re leaving your patient vulnerable,” she added, highlighting a nurse’s dilemma between personal safety and patient care.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 75% of nonfatal assaults on workers in the private sector in 2021 and 2022 were against those in the healthcare and social assistance sectors, leading to a rate that exceeds the national average by more than five times.
Recent incidents reflect this troubling pattern. In one notable event, a man shot two corrections officers in an Idaho hospital’s ambulance bay to free a gang member before being apprehended shortly afterward. Another shooting in 2023 at a maternity unit in Portland, Oregon, left a security guard dead and a hospital worker injured. The same year, a man opened fire in an Atlanta medical center waiting area, resulting in one fatality and several injuries. The violence also reached a Tulsa, Oklahoma, surgical office, where a man killed his surgeon and three others, attributing his grievances to the medical care he received.
As violence in hospitals escalates, many facilities are now using metal detectors and implementing stricter visitor screenings at entrances, particularly in emergency departments. Healthcare workers often express disbelief after being targeted for such violence. Sem underscored the importance of training to recognize early warning signs that might indicate a potential threat. “More than half of these incidents I’m aware of showed some early warning signs from early indicators that this person is problematic. They’re threatening, they’re angry. And so that needs to be reported. That needs to be managed,” he noted, stressing the importance of communication in preventing violent incidents.
Without proper reporting and handling of concerning behaviors, healthcare providers may remain unaware of potential dangers until it is too late.
