CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Saturday's fatal shooting in CAMC Memorial's intensive-care unit hightlights the delicate balance hospitals must strike between staff security and patient care, a hospital association spokesman said Monday.
Rhonda Kay Stewart, 53 of Elkview, walked into her estranged husband's room and shot him in the head with a semi-automatic handgun about 2 p.m. Saturday, according to a complaint filed with the Kanawha County Magistrate Court.
Her husband, Sammy Lee Stewart, was pronounced dead about 2:30 p.m.
CAMC spokesman Dale Witte said again on Monday that the hospital wasn't releasing any more details on the incident. He also said there would be no comment on hospital security in general.
But Tony Gregory, vice president of the West Virginia Hospital Association said security questions are a dilemma all hospitals face.
"The simple fact is that hospitals are public places and must strike a balance between a secure workplace and creating barriers for patients and their families, he said.
Hospitals in larger cities often have metal detectors and stricter security, Gregory said.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Saturday's fatal shooting in CAMC Memorial's intensive-care unit hightlights the delicate balance hospitals must strike between staff security and patient care, a hospital association spokesman said Monday.
Rhonda Kay Stewart, 53 of Elkview, walked into her estranged husband's room and shot him in the head with a semi-automatic handgun about 2 p.m. Saturday, according to a complaint filed with the Kanawha County Magistrate Court.
Her husband, Sammy Lee Stewart, was pronounced dead about 2:30 p.m.
CAMC spokesman Dale Witte said again on Monday that the hospital wasn't releasing any more details on the incident. He also said there would be no comment on hospital security in general.
But Tony Gregory, vice president of the West Virginia Hospital Association said security questions are a dilemma all hospitals face.
"The simple fact is that hospitals are public places and must strike a balance between a secure workplace and creating barriers for patients and their families, he said.
Hospitals in larger cities often have metal detectors and stricter security, Gregory said.
"Some question whether metal detectors are advantageous or not," Gregory said. "They do have disadvantages. They are costly. Space and resources to pay for a person to man them is limited. ... We don't want to create a barrier to those who need care."
What security measures a hospital puts in place often depends on its location, he said.
"There are hospitals out there in more urban settings that do utilize metal detectors. But is that necessary here?" Gregory said. "It appears as though this is an isolated incident."
Charleston Police have not released the motive behind the slaying.
"It may be one of the aspects we're still sorting out," Chief of Detectives Steve Cooper said Monday.
Information made public too early in an investigation can ultimately jeopardize a successful prosecution, Cooper said.
"Motives are not necessarily secret in all homicides, but we want to make sure we have all the facts straight," he said.
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Maybe, since an earlier incident involving this women occured and she was asked to leave the hospital. Security should have been on alert for this women's return, and stopped her before she made it back to the ICU.
Security is a must for any hospital. The majority of the employees are female, patients are sick or injured and not able to protect themselves, visitors are under alot of stress. Most anything can and will happen in this type of situation and it's the hospitals responsibility to assure that staff and patients are protected.
It's like, WHO DOES THAT ANYWAY? ....bring a gun into a hospital to shot the patient.
And actually, if security was a MAJOR issue, we would have heard about other issues with visitor-on-patient violence before this past weekend.