Officials at a Utah hospital where a nurse was forcibly arrested after refusing to draw blood from an unconscious patient are imposing new restrictions on law enforcement — including no longer allowing cops to be in the emergency room or to interact with nurses.
Gordon Crabtree, interim CEO at the University of Utah Hospital, told reporters that the nurse, Alex Wubbels, handled the July 26 incident with “utmost courage and integrity” while upholding hospital policy and patient privacy.
“Her actions are nothing less than exemplary,” Crabtree said during a news conference Monday, adding that he was “deeply troubled” by the actions caught on camera of Salt Lake City Detective Jeff Payne, who arrested Wubbels after she tried to explain to the detective that blood could not be taken without a warrant from an unconscious patient unless he or she consents or that individual has been arrested.
“His actions were out of line,” Crabtree said. “There’s absolutely no tolerance for that kind of behavior in our hospital.”
Nurses at the hospital will no longer interact with police, according to its chief of nursing, Margaret Pearce. The new policy was put into place in August, before footage of Wubbels’ interaction with Payne and subsequent arrest went viral.
“We have to make sure this never, ever happens again,” Pearce told reporters, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. “I was appalled at the events of July 26. She was advocating for the rights of her patient. She did this beautifully.”
Instead of working directly with nurses, law enforcement officials will now work with a supervisor at the hospital and will be barred from entering the emergency room or other areas with patients. A review of the previous policy at the hospital began just hours after Wubbels’ arrest on suspicion of obstruction of justice, Crabtree and Pearce said.
Attorneys for the hospital are still considering whether to take legal action against the Salt Lake City Police Department, as well as Payne, Crabtree said. An attorney for Wubbels, meanwhile, has said the nurse doesn’t necessarily want to file a lawsuit, but wants improved policies in place from both the Salt Lake City Police Department and officers at the hospital.
University of Utah Police Chief Dale Brophy said all officers at the hospital will now be taught de-escalation techniques and told reporters Monday that he wasn’t aware how serious the incident was until he saw the footage that was released last week after Wubbels felt the hospital hadn’t responded appropriately.
“My reaction changed after viewing the video,” Brophy said Monday. “She shouldn’t have been hauled off in handcuffs.”
Wubbels, for her part, said she hopes the footage brings about a better relationship between nurses and police officers.
“I feel a sense of urgency for this conversation,” Wubbels told the “Today” show Monday. “We need to make this better. This can’t be happening, it should’ve never happened, and if I have anything to say about it, it won’t ever happen again.”
Wubbels said she still isn’t sure what set off Payne, who has been placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. A criminal investigation has also been opened at the request of District Attorney Sim Gill, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.
“I have no idea,” Wubbels said. “I personally didn’t think there was any sense of urgency. I would have liked for a chance for him to sort of talk with one of his superiors prior to doing what he did to me. I don’t know what his problem was, if you will.”
Footage of the interaction shows Wubbels, a former skier in the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics, calmly explaining to Payne that blood could not be taken from a 43-year-old unconscious patient without a warrant unless he or she consents or that individual has been arrested. That set off Payne, who placed Wubbels in handcuffs and led her out of the hospital as the woman shrieked in agony. She was not charged.
