LINCOLN - The shooting earlier this week that killed four people at a hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has brought into sharp focus the threat of violence that health care workers face.

On Wednesday, June 1, a man who was unhappy with the results of his back surgery shot and killed his surgeon, another doctor, a patient, and a receptionist at Tulsa's St. Francis Hospital before turning the gun on himself.

Nothing as extreme has taken place in a Nebraska medical facility, but officials say staff face abuse and violence daily from patients and their families, something that has seen a sharp increase since the coronavirus pandemic started.

Lisa Vail, vice president of patient care services and system chief nursing officer at Bryan Health, said this kind of behavior used to be confined to patients frustrated over their care and recovery.

"Now the people walk through the front door and they're angry," Vail said.

The source of the anger is typically masking requirements and rules that have limited visitors, she said.

She said nearly 60% of incidents at Bryan in 2021 that resulted in staff injuries bad enough to require reporting to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were caused by patients or visitors.

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