Citation

Bouchard C. Health Prog. (Saint Louis, Mo.) 2016; 97(4): 81-82.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Catholic Health Association of the United States)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

28165695

Abstract

If you want to avoid violence, stay away from hospitals. The first time I went to an emergency room, to pick up an elderly friar who had taken a fall, I was shocked to encounter armed guards, metal detectors, police officers and even a handcuffed prisoner sitting in the waiting area. Was I in a hospital or a jail? This brief, daytime experience changed my image of emergency care forever. Since that first visit, I have learned that things are even worse than they appeared that day. Hospitals are dangerous places.

Language: en