Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Union leadership representing nurses at Mercy Hospital of Buffalo continue to seek answers following a shooting that took place late Sunday night inside the hospital in South Buffalo.
Just before midnight on Sunday, a patient in the emergency room at Mercy Hospital suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound while they were alone in an exam room.
Staff at the hospital intervened and were able to disarm the individual before providing medical attention and transferring them to Erie County Medical Center for further care.
No other patients, staff or visitors were injured as a result of the incident.
Officials at Catholic Health acknowledge that incidents like this are becoming all too common, and they are committed to ensuring associates are not being put in harm's way.
Brian Magner, president of CWA Local 1133 - representing nurses at Mercy Hospital of Buffalo and Kenmore Mercy Hospital - says there was plenty of frustration from those he represents after the incident.
"By the time I got to speak with some of the members, it was just more so frustration at what had happened, and looking for answers as to how to prevent these types of situations from happening again. I think that was the biggest concern, and still is the biggest concern," said Magner in an interview with WBEN.
Magner feels it comes down to improving safety at local hospitals to better protect not only for the staff, but also the patients and visitors.
"We never want to see anybody harmed, especially when you go to work as a healthcare professional. You don't expect to have to go into work fearing danger," said Magner. "There's certain things you will have to worry about, but being threatened or assaulted by patients or visitors is not one of those things. There have been other instances with weapons on site, and we've tried to work with the hospital regarding those situations as they present themselves."
On Monday, Catholic Health held an executive meeting to review a recently completed third-party safety and security study at both Mercy and Sisters Hospitals in Buffalo, which included recommended plans for each hospital. CWA officials were also invited to be a part of the review and the discussion.
"Yesterday was supposed to be a scheduled bargaining day for us with Catholic Health, we're bargaining a new contract that expires at the end of June of this year. We sat down with them and we had a list of proposals, as far as things to improve safety at all of the Catholic Health facilities. They were receptive to that, and we were actually invited to a meeting at the corporate headquarters yesterday afternoon to discuss some of the immediate measures, and some of the measures that will be taken down the road to improve the safety of not only our staff, but the patients and visitors as well," Magner noted.
Magner adds he doesn't feel that any of the security issues, or an incident such as Sunday will impact negotiations for a new contract between Catholic Health and the union going forward.
"I think this is something separate that just happened to arise on a day where we were supposed to meet for bargaining," Magner said. "We had proposed different articles for incidences of workplace violence, but this was something that happened separately. This should not have any impact on negotiations, that I can tell, and I think this is something that's a separate issue, and that we both want to work to resolve as quickly as possible."