JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Despite recent violent incidents at the North Dakota State Hospital, data shows that assaults on employees, inpatients, and residents are down.

The State Hospital Governing Board met Tuesday morning and heard from Superintendent Dr. Rosalie Etherington on hospital accreditation and safety measures being taken following several studies at the state hospital.

One of the main findings in those studies was the downward trend of assaults.

Etherington reported that they have since implemented a series of solutions that reinforce safety at the hospital including upgrades to observation mirrors to eliminate blind spots, increased staff radios, and improved ‘grouping’ of camera screens for improved observation.

She pointed out that there were also procedural and relational security improvements being implemented.

“The purpose of a hospital is to provide a safe and therapeutic community,” Etherington stated in her report. “Procedural and physical actions must provide institutional safeguards, but they do not create community. Only relationships can create community. Thus relational practices are not only most productive but essentials creating a healthy community for patients and staff.”

Department of Human Services Executive Director Chris Jones was in attendance of the meeting and asked if part of the improvements included improving relationships with the outlying communities.

Dr. Etherington says the people they serve come from community and return to the community. She says addressing the “unspoken” stigma surrounding those who leave their care would be a step in the right direction.

In the Quality Management Report given to the ND State Hospital Governing Body, it was found that from 2013 to 2018, there was a downward trend for assault of employees, inpatient, and residential.

“We have also compared [the] number of staff assaults with reported staff injury since 2016,” reports Quality Management Director Cindy Lund.

According to the report, the hospital experienced 89 assaults to employees, 64 to inpatient clients, and 3 to residential clients in 2018. This compares to 111 to employees, 58 to inpatient clients, and 8 to residential clients in 2017.

Of those assaults, it was found that 21 resulted in injuries in 2017 and only 13 in 2018.