Attacks against nurses and health care workers are considered a worsening problem, according to an article on the Penn Live website.
Recently at Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, a patient allegedly tried to rape a nurse earlier this month.
"It needs to be brought out. We need safe environments," said Maureen Casey, a registered nurse and union president at Penn State Hershey.
Experts say the frequency and severity of attacks on nurses and other front-line hospital staffers has risen substantially during the past decade, with attacks also made by families and friends of patients.
In Pennsylvania, two bills have been introduced to make it a felony to attack a nurse or numerous other types of healthcare workers.
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