Butler Hospital employees, leadership discuss safety issues after patient charged
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WJAR) — Three Butler Hospital employees and a police officer are recovering after police say a patient became violent and injured them Friday evening.
Police identified the suspect as Elias Dominguez, 34.
The incident comes months after Rhode Island's longest hospital strike in recent history. Hundreds of Butler Hospital staff members walked off the job while their union representatives negotiated a new contract with hospital leadership.
One key concern staff members expressed throughout the strike centered around worker safety. The eventual deal between the two parties resulted in the creation of a taskforce aimed at addressing workplace safety.
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"It was a pretty extreme event, but it wasn't shocking for anybody," mental health worker and union delegate Ben Degnan told NBC 10 when asked about Friday's incident.
Degnan said unionized workers met with hospital leadership Saturday to further the conversation around staff safety. He said the conversation was productive and more dialogue will take place this week.
"These types of incidents happened before the strike," Degnan said. "These types of incidents unfortunately have a high potential to continue to happen, not just in Butler Hospital, but in behavioral health at large."
Dominguez is facing three counts of assault on healthcare providers, one count of assault on a police officer, one count of disorderly conduct and one count of resisting arrest, according to police.
Butler sent NBC 10 the following statement:
"Butler is focused on supporting our staff after Friday’s incident, and we are grateful that the injured employees are home and recovering. Members of our hospital leadership team and counselors remain on site, speaking directly to staff and listening to their concerns. Worker safety has always been a priority at Butler. As part of this ongoing commitment, hospital leadership and the union met on Saturday to review current practices and assess opportunities to evaluate, and further strengthen safety measures."
Editor's note: The mugshot of Elias Dominguez was updated after Providence Police Department sent a corrected booking photo on Jan. 20.
