Members of the Ohio Nurses Association and Mary Rutan Hospital nurses spoke to the Bellefontaine City Council Tuesday night about safety concerns inside the hospital.
The group asked city leaders to work with hospital officials and law enforcement to improve safety for employees, patients, and visitors.
During the meeting, the group shared several recent incidents it says show the need for stronger safety measures.
In one case, a patient entered the emergency department without being searched by hospital security and was later found to have a loaded handgun.
They claim in another, a patient who had already been searched by law enforcement was later discovered to be still carrying a weapon.
The association also described an incident where a patient became violent and damaged property in the emergency department.
Nurses said police were called three times before an officer stayed with the patient until the person was transferred to another facility.
During that incident, nurses said they were told that people committing offenses inside the hospital were not being charged, per direction from the city prosecutor’s office.
Emergency Room nurse Maria Bonz was the first nurse to address council:
Council President Ben Stahler stopped the group after two commenters and said:
“I just want to remind you and the body that you have come before tonight is a legislative body that makes rules for the city. We do not have a tie to Mary Rutan Hospital. We’re citizens, we’re concerned. It does sound like Mary Rutan needs to sit up at the table and add more security, if that would help. I appreciate that you have prepared remarks; I just want to remind you that before you share more remarks, this body can’t legislate, can’t make a local law, that would somehow change that environment.”
Mary Rutan Hospital Nurse Tara Davis then also addressed council, saying:
” Thank you, Council President Stahler and Members of the Bellefontaine City Council. My name is Tara Davis. I work as a Registered Nurse on the night shift in the Emergency Department at Mary Rutan Hospital. I have been an RN for 23 years, the last 15 of which have been in the ED at Mary Rutan. I am a Logan County resident and the co-chair of our local ONA unit. While I have been fortunate to not have been physically injured in any of the incidents you’ve heard about tonight, some of these instances have stuck with me both mentally and emotionally. I have witnessed several of my colleagues as they work to treat injured and sick patients, while being verbally and physically assaulted. As a union leader, I reach out to my colleagues to offer comfort and confirm they have the resources they need following an incident of workplace violence. Over the last 6 months, I have had to make far too many of these calls, and I have witnessed local police and prosecutors refusing to take action after these assaults. In January, we had a patient in the emergency department who was both verbally and physically abusive to staff, repeatedly hitting things in their room, threw a steel linen hamper at hospital security, and forcefully pushed a hospital bed into a nurse. The patient’s behavior was so threatening and erratic that staff decided to remove the locked and secured sharps container from the room. The day-shift nurses had dealt with this patient for several hours and called Bellefontaine Police twice for assistance. After trying for 9 hours to work with this patient, we called Bellefontaine Police a third time for assistance on night shift. Bellefontaine Police told us that they had been instructed by the prosecutor not to arrest any patients, because she wanted hospital staff to “do their jobs.” Police told us that they had been instructed by the prosecutor not to arrest any patients who assault nurses unless they “crossed a line.” We asked what the line was, and police responded, “Honestly, I don’t know.” This patient was greatly disruptive to our other patients. Several patients asked to be discharged so they wouldn’t have to continue being near this patient. When BPD officers arrived after our third call, I commented to a police officer that if this patient were acting like this on the street, they would be arrested already. The officer agreed. I asked, “Is one of us going to have to be bleeding before you help us?” In April, Bellefontaine Police brought a patient to the emergency department during the day shift. The police officer explained that the patient had been making homicidal ideation comments, threatening to kill a romantic partner and others. The intake nurse asked if the police officer would be staying with the patient, given the threats the patient was making, and the officer responded, “No, they’re not under arrest.” After performing the triage assessment, one of my colleagues found a lighter on the patient and asked an EMS medic whether the patient had been searched for weapons prior to being brought to the emergency department. They had not been. Hospital security then searched the patient for weapons. After a security assessment, the patient was put in a paper gown, and security was stationed at the door. That afternoon, the patient left their room and ran down the hallway, attempting to leave the hospital. Security was able to convince the patient to return to their room. Bellefontaine Police arrived about 20 minutes after this, and told staff that they are unable to arrest any patients unless they cause physical harm to staff, per instructions from the prosecutor. We are nurses. We understand that we often meet people at their worst moments. They are sick, injured, in pain, scared, and confused. Their family members are worried. Being a patient in an emergency room setting is overwhelming and stressful. But we can’t continue going in to work every day, wondering what physical abuse awaits us. Wondering when a coworker won’t arrive in time to intervene, when a patient won’t stop kicking, when an angry visitor will catch us with our guard down and land that punch. Wondering when we will be injured severely enough that we won’t be able to continue working. I know it’s not possible to prevent every single incident in a setting like a hospital emergency department. But there are some obvious changes that could help make it a safer work environment for me and my colleagues. For example, Mary Rutan Hospital only staffs one security guard for the entire building and all the other buildings the hospital owns. Let me say that again: One security guard for the entire hospital and all the other buildings the hospital owns. That single security guard is, of course, unable to be in more than one place at a time, and they are not always able to respond quickly to an incident if they are far away or already involved in another issue. We have worked through our local union and ONA to try to get changes to hospital security to better protect the nurses, health professionals, and patients of Mary Rutan Hospital, but we have received no real response. ONA has repeatedly asked the city prosecutor to meet to discuss our concerns, but those requests have been ignored. We can all get together now and work to figure out how best to make Mary Rutan Hospital a safe environment for patients and staff alike, or we can wait until tragedy strikes and a nurse is seriously injured or even killed. I don’t want to wait for that to happen to make change, and I can’t imagine you do, either. I know this may not be the sort of thing City Council is regularly asked to do, but it is clear to me and my colleagues that we need someone outside to help bring together frontline nursing staff, hospital security staff, hospital leadership, police, and prosecutors to work together to identify and implement needed changes. Thank you so much for your time and for hearing our concerns. I truly hope we can work together to make Mary Rutan Hospital safe for everyone.”
The Ohio Nurses Association said those incidents point to gaps in current safety procedures and wants city leaders, law enforcement, and hospital officials to work together to find solutions.
The group said it is seeking answers and a public discussion on how these situations are handled.
In other business, council turned down a request to approve a Community Reinvestment Area tax incentive for Kristina Bellefontaine LLC.
This resolution would have approved that the city would enter into an agreement that provides property tax breaks and improvements at Deercreek Apartments on Kristina Drive.
Council members Reser, Palmer, Easton and Lile all voted no on the measure.
Council also gave the first reading to Ordinance 26-34, which would allow land owned by Logan County at the Logan County Fairgrounds to be removed from the City of Bellefontaine and become part of Lake Township again.
The Logan County Commissioners made the request.
The ordinance was introduced as an emergency measure so the process can move forward more quickly if approved; however, it was passed on first reading only.
In his report, Mayor Dave Crissman told council that in 1991 the city entered into a friendship agreement with Suzuka, Japan, becoming a Sister City.
He went on to explain that the friendship has been beneficial for both cities and that students would be visiting the area later this week.
To commemorate the 35 year anniversay the city crafted challenge coins to give to the students.
Bellefontaine Police Chief Chris Marlow reminded the council that his department has two big events coming: the annual K9 Chicken Dinner and National Night Out.
Chief Marlow also gave his personal opinion on allowing golf carts on city streets:
Fire Chief Brian Wilson updated council members on the ladder truck that is at Sutphen for repairs.
There are more than what were anticipated, and it will be gone longer.
Thankfully, all of the issues, which include bad fuel injectors, several bad cylinders, and loads of other issues, are covered by the warranty.
Unfortunately, it does leave the city vulnerable, since there is no second ladder truck.
Olivia Covey from the Downtown Bellefontaine Partnership said that the previous weekend’s event, Pineapple Palooza, was a large success.
The group saw 500 ticket sales, a large increase from previous years.
She also mentioned that Taste of Bellefontaine is August 6th and is quickly approaching; watch their website for more details to be released soon HERE.
The next Bellefontaine City Council meeting will be held in Council Chambers on Tuesday, August 10, 2026, at 7:30 PM.
