The Buffalo News
BUFFALO, N.Y. 鈥� Catholic Health System is beefing up security at Mercy Hospital of Buffalo after a patient shot himself with a gun while inside the Emergency Department late Sunday night.
The patient was treated at the scene and then transported to Erie County Medical Center. No other patients, visitors or staff were harmed in the incident, and the police were called to the scene, according to a statement from Catholic Health.
鈥淚ncidents like this are becoming all too common, and it is critical to all of us that our associates not be put in danger,鈥� Catholic Health President and CEO Joyce Markiewicz said in a statement. 鈥淲e are responding with immediate action and we have added a second armed guard at Mercy Hospital, who will be stationed exclusively in the Emergency Department 24/7.鈥�
Communications Workers of America Local 1133 and Local 1168, which represents health care workers at Mercy Hospital, Kenmore Mercy Hospital and Sisters of Charity Hospital, St. Joseph Campus, held a news conference at 1 p.m. Monday in front of Mercy Hospital鈥檚 Emergency Department entrance.
There, union officials demanded 鈥渋mmediate action from Catholic Health to protect frontline health care workers, patients and hospital visitors.鈥�
In her statement, Markiewicz said Catholic Health鈥檚 leadership team is evaluating the results of a third-party safety study that was recently completed at the health system.
鈥淲e have reached out to invite our CWA partners to be part of this discussion, and will be taking action on the recommended plan immediately,鈥� Markiewicz said.
Medicaid cuts, staffing loom large as contract talks begin for 10,000 WNY hospital workers
All told, about 10,000 local union health care workers will see their wages, benefits and working conditions determined by what unfolds at the bargaining table over the next several months.
In a news release Monday evening, CWA officials said they were notified of the shooting incident at about 8 a.m. Monday by Catholic Health administration.
In the release, CWA said it has been in discussions with Catholic Health regarding workplace safety, but the union said 鈥減rogress has been slow.鈥� The CWA bargaining committee, which is currently negotiating a contract with Catholic Health, met Monday with Catholic Health officials to discuss the shooting incident. ( CWA and Catholic Health started negotiating March 3 on a new collective bargaining agreement for nearly 2,700 employees. The current four-year deal expires June 30.)
CWA said it wants Catholic Health to implement several security measures, including signage in all Catholic Health facilities stating that weapons are prohibited and that verbal and physical abuse will not be tolerated. The union also wants armed security guards posted in all waiting rooms and in all Catholic Health Emergency Departments 鈥渁t all times.鈥�
Among the union鈥檚 other demands: Bulletproof glass installed in public-facing areas; metal detectors installed in public entryways; badge scanners in entryways, including ambulance entrances; a limit on the number of visitors in the Emergency Department; an evaluation of the Emergency Departments to determine risks and potential ways to reduce those risks; de-escalation training for all bargaining-unit members; a separate entrance for behavioral health patients; and a complete revision of weapons control policy.
In addition, the union wants crisis services available for employees affected by the incident, excused absence time with pay for employees involved in the incident and the immediate formation of a workgroup, which would include Emergency Department staff and union representatives, to address safety issues.
鈥淎s an Emergency Department nurse, I come to work every day ready to care for my patients, but I should never fear for my own safety while doing my job,鈥� Maureen Kryszak, a registered nurse of 29 years, said in a statement. 鈥淢y coworkers, who I consider to be my family, and I deserve to feel safe at work. Catholic Health must act now to make sure that I come home at the end of my shift.鈥�
In recent years, several labor unions have called out the growing workplace violence that health care employees encounter. In a statement, CWA District 1 Vice President Dennis Trainor said the shooting late Sunday night is the 鈥渓atest and most extreme example of how severe the problem has become.鈥�
For instance, a National Nurses United survey, which was released in February 2024 and gathered responses from nearly 1,000 nurses working in 48 states and the District of Columbia, found 81.6% of nurses had experienced at least one type of workplace violence within the prior year.
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