WOONSOCKET – A 21-year-old North Smithfield woman is facing charges of attacking two different nurses at Landmark Medical Center in the span of about a week.
Lyric Avelino of 40 Old Great Road is charged with two counts of assault on a health care provider, a felony. Police in North Smithfield picked her up on Woonsocket police warrants Saturday, April 29.
One of Avelino’s victims reportedly suffered substantial injury in the alleged assault. When he encountered the victim, Patrolman Nicholas D’Alessio reported, the 36-year-old woman was being treated in a neck brace and she was “highly upset, in pain and crying.”
The assault happened about 3:12 p.m. on Thursday, April 20, when Avelino had been taken to the Cass Avenue hospital for “her mental state and possible intoxication,” officers reported.
The victim told police that during a portion of the intake procedure, Avelino stood on top of a bed, grabbed her by the head, “jerked her around and dragged her onto the bed by her head and neck.” The injured nurse later reported the LMC emergency room for treatment, according to a police report.
Police say Avelino is also accused of assaulting a second nurse, a 39-year-old female, on the morning of Friday, April 28. In that incident, Avelino allegedly grabbed the woman by the hair and began punching her in the face multiple times until other staff members were able to pull her away from the nurse.
The victim suffered facial bruises.
CNA’s Nurse and these 1st responders always get brunt of it! It’s not ok. I personally went to school with the gentleman who got kicked out of the ambulance and hit multiple times. Mental health is a big thing. But…Also being an ass is too so damned if we do damed if we don’t.
I worked at Oakland grove and a patient was beating me so badly I was terrified of him, I was having nightmares and started going to counseling. I reported it to my nurse and supervisor, I was told what do you want me to do he hits everyone. I refused to take care of him alone. I was fired. This is how nursing homes, especially Oakland grove treats cna’s. This patient was supposed to be taken care of with 3 people because he was so combative. I will never forget that patient or the nurses/ supervisors that never supported me. I hope karma bites them in the butt! Families think when they put their combative family members in homes their safe, but what about the cna who take care of your family? Do you ever wonder what they do to us? They always talk about how we hurt patients, never of how the patients hurt and traumatize us!!
Should have filed a report to EEOC, the state Nursing Board, and the Dept of Health and Human Services. As a nurse I would have supported you. Too many good ppl are leaving the profession. Best wishes and hope you find a better place to work at!
I was a nurses aide in a nursing home. Ive been scratched and bitten. I could forgive it because they had dementia. But these nurses were attacked by a strong opponent. The police drop these drug and/or mentally ill patients off, and the nurses are left to handle the rest, because there arent enough police in the city to handle crime, much less, babysit a problem person in the hospital. I struggle with mental illness, but im functioning level. Independent. These patients, when they come in, need mental health assessments, with security outside the room, just in case. Nurses arent getting that protection, and they are forced to do those assessments as they treat the patient, but nurses aren’t trained psychiatrists. They can only do so much. I hope the hospital considers having a mental health professional on every shift, to attend to these out of control patients. Even if they can’t find a psychiatrist, there are plenty of Nurse Practitioners in the psych field who can do the job. Maybe Landmark can outsource mental health professionals from Butler to cover second and third shifts.
Unacceptable behavior she should be charged.Nurses need protection was in nursing for years came home with bruises black eyes.
Now you can better understand what an EMT went through not too long ago when shoved out of a rescue unit by a patient. Takes all you have to not smack someone back sometimes.
Between our school teachers, police, health care providers, etc, it has become a nightmare to care for combative people. Always best to have a partner alongside now. Sure hope she gets the help she needs.