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New push to make hospital worker assault a felony sparks familiar concerns

Lawmakers are again debating whether stiffer penalties for assaulting hospital workers would criminalize people for mental illness
February 20, 2024
 
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A pile of flowers and a note eulogizing Bobby Smallwood, a security officer for Legacy Health, sit outside the Good Samaritan Medical Center, where he was killed during a confrontation on July 30, 2023. | JAKE THOMAS/THE LUND REPORT

Justin McCoy, a Medford critical care nurse, recalls being punched, kicked and hit over the head with a walker.