[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 158 (Wednesday, November 10, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2333]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             INTRODUCTION OF THE GUN-FREE HOSPITAL ZONE ACT

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                         HON. MARTIN T. MEEHAN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 9, 1999

  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce the ``Gun-Free 
Hospital Zone Act.'' A bill that will provide protection and peace of 
mind to doctors, nurses, patients, and administrative staffs of 
hospitals throughout the country.
  The need for this legislation was brought to my attention by my 
constituent, Bernadett Vajda, whose father, Janos, was tragically 
murdered at the Holy Family Hospital in Methuen, MA.
  Janos was simply visiting a hospital patient, Dr. Suzan Kamm, when he 
was attacked and shot to death by the estranged husband of Dr. Kamm.
  It is very easy to imagine how this bill would have saved Mr. Vajda's 
life. Had the gunman, Dr. James Kartell, been aware of the prohibition 
of firearms in a hospital, he would have not carried one with him that 
fateful day. And when Dr. Kartell reached the fourth floor of the 
hospital and approached the room where his estranged wife had been 
admitted, he would have been unarmed.
  What happened next, the chance encounter between Dr. Kartell and Mr. 
Vajda, would still have been emotional, potentially even resulted in 
violence, but without a gun at the scene, it almost certainly would not 
have resulted in murder.
  Unfortunately, we witness frustration expressed in workplace violence 
increasingly in our country. Whether it be the tragic shooting recently 
in Hawaii, the murders this summer in Atlanta, or the all too numerous 
acts of violence at post offices, we have become accustomed to seeing 
the image of the emotional employee who resorts to violence.
  Emotions run high at hospitals on a daily basis. Life and death 
decisions are made constantly in emergency rooms and hospitals 
throughout our country. In this atmosphere of heightened emotion and 
decreased logic, unthinking acts of violence are more likely and less 
preventable.
  This legislation deals with a very real issue, but do not just take 
my word for it, look at the statistics on workplace violence at 
hospitals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, health care and 
social service workers have the highest incidence of injuries from 
workplace violence. Further, health care workers rank only behind 
convenience store clerks and taxi cab drivers in terms of workplace 
risk of homicide.
  Emergency room physicians and nurses are at special risk. According 
to the Emergency Nurses Association, 24 percent of emergency room staff 
are exposed to physical violence with a weapon 1-5 times a year. The 
rate of violence is increasing annually.
  In 1997, 7 percent of emergency room nurses reported that they have 
been subjected to between 1 and 10 physical incidents involving 
firearms in the workplace during the past year. One nurse from the 
Colorado Nurses Association reported that ``no hospital unit and no 
hospital--large or small, urban or rural--is immune'' from violent gun 
attacks.
  It is my goal to not only to make it less likely that tragic deaths 
like Mr. Vajda's occur, but also that nurses and doctors feel safer to 
do their jobs without worrying about whether the next person to walk in 
the emergency room door has a gun. For that reason, this legislation is 
supported by the medical professionals at Holy Family Hospital who hope 
never to experience a tragic incident like Mr. Vajda's death ever 
again.

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