University of Utah Hospital has barred police officers from interacting with frontline staff following nurse arrest, according to an article on the Fierce Healthcare website.
The healthcare facility updated its policy for police interactions the day after an officer arrested a nurse who refused to take a blood sample from an unconscious patient
Policy now requires police officers to interact directly with the hospital supervisor.
In late July, a Salt Lake City detective asked a nurse to draw blood from a patient on the burn ward for the investigation into a car accident. The patient was unconscious and unable to consent to a blood draw, and the police did not have a search warrant. When the nurse refused to comply with the officer’s request, she was handcuffed and put into a patrol car.