Utah nurse calls for safety changes after alleged assault at state hospital

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SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah nurse is filing a lawsuit against the state after she says she was assaulted by a patient while working at the Utah State Hospital.

Nurse Jennette Pearson said she knows there are inherent dangers when working with the severely mentally ill, but she claims the hospital is understaffed and, therefore, dangerous.

"I was doing an extra shift to help out the unit," Pearson said. She said she's been concerned about staffing shortages for a while.

Pearson said she was punched in the face by a patient while administering medications, which is part of her job.

Patients at the Utah State Hospital are often dangerous, as they are severely mentally impaired. Pearson suffered a concussion along with a goose egg on her head and a black eye. She's been home since the attack happened on Oct. 25.

She works as a nurse at the Utah State Hospital and says a patient beat her up. Now she's filing a lawsuit against the State of Utah. Her story and what changes she wants
tonight on @ksl5tv news at 10. pic.twitter.com/o8e3Ur3cyY
— Debbie Worthen (@DebbieWorthen) November 11, 2021

She said she loves her job and feels it's her calling to help those who are mentally ill. But she wants the state to step in to ensure safety at the hospital for staff and patients.

For now, Pearson says she hopes to feel better by Monday since she can't afford to stay home on 60% workers' compensation pay. But she's concerned.

"I still have headaches," she said. "I get tired. I think there's probably some lingering depression."

The Utah Department of Human Services released a statement to KSL-TV, which reads: "Staff and patient safety are paramount to our 24/7 care for individuals with severe mental illness. Any injury to staff or patient is unacceptable. We carefully review each incident to learn from it, take immediate action, and make changes to prevent it from happening again. We are cooperating with law enforcement and prosecutors, and are conducting our own review to make safety improvements where needed."

Pearson said she's heard lots of reasons for why there's no more money for safety measures. She believes it's time for state leaders to figure that out so she can go back to doing what she loves — without getting beat up.

"On our level, on the employee level, we want to be able to go home, to come back to work the next day," she said.

Pearson added the patient that hit her has still not been charged in connection to her attack. If he were to be charged, he would be moved to a higher-security area of the hospital.

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Debbie Worthen

Debbie Worthen brings nearly two decades of award-winning journalism experience to the KSL Newsroom and is thrilled be working for Utah’s legacy news organization. She anchors KSL 5 News at 4 and Live at 5 with Mike Headrick and reports for KSL 5 News at 6pm. There are countless things Debbie enjoys about working in local news, but storytelling is at the top of the list. Whether it’s meeting the remarkable people of Utah as they do amazing things, informing viewers of critical breaking news and issues that impact their communities or reporting on daily assignments like weather and traffic, Debbie is honored to be the one trusted to tell Utahn’s stories. She believes journalistic integrity and a commitment to accuracy have never been more important than they are now. Debbie started her career as a writer, producer and traffic reporter while finishing her communications degree at The University of Utah before making the jump to a full-time on-air position. (Although you could say she caught the news “bug” at KOLT-News at Cottonwood High School.) After several moves across the country, Debbie and her husband, Brandon Gilbert, moved to Utah to start their family. They love everything Utah has to offer and can’t imagine living anywhere else. Outside the office, Debbie and her family are advocates for at-risk youth and have fostered several children through Utah Foster Care. As a family they enjoy movie nights in the basement, trying new recipes and, a few times a year, traveling to exotic locations!