LOXAHATCHEE, Fla. (WSVN) — A Palm Beach County nurse is battling for her life after a patient attacked her while on the job, authorities said.
Investigators said the patient, identified as 33-year-old Stephen Scantlebury, beat up the victim while she was working at HCA Palms West Hospital, Tuesday afternoon.
The brutal beating resulted in the patient breaking almost every bone in her face and leaving her at risk of losing both eyes, according to the arrest report.
Deputies with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office arrested Scantlebury, who ran out into traffic moments after the attack.
Officials said he was Baker Acted for paranoia before he jumped out of bed and repeatedly hit the nurse’s face.
However, the hospital isn’t one of Palm Beach County’s five designated Baker Act facilities, which is raising some serious concerns.
That fact has left some people, such as Baker Act attorney Mark Astor, wondering whether he should have been in that facility at all.
“Are they saying that there were no other beds anywhere in the county? That would be the first time I ever heard of that, but I guess it’s a possibility,” he said. “Let’s say there were no other beds available, and this was just the nearest place to take him, knowing that this was not a facility that could cope with mentally unstable patients. Then he shouldn’t have been taken there.”
Experts in the psychiatry field said it’s possible the training the nurse received may not have been adequate.
“They end up in the emergency department, and the staff there are dealing with them the same way they would deal with any patient, and if they have a severe mental illness, the staff may not be equipped or trained to deal with them,” said Dr. Daniel Bober, Chief of Psychiatry at Memorial Regional Healthcare System.
Bober added that training and proper resources make all the difference.
“They know how to diffuse confrontation. They have obviously certain physical environments they work in. They have access to, you know, for example, panic buttons and things like that. So they are used to dealing with violent, aggressive patients,” said Bober.
Nurses union leaders reacted to the incident and said that while it’s unfortunate, this kind of attack is not unheard of.
“It’s a lot of anxiety, a lot of fear, a lot of pressure to go into work every day knowing that workplace violence will happen at some point. It’s a part of the disease process for many patients,” said Jane Thomason, Lead Industrial Hygienist with National Nurses United.
Scantlebury is facing more than just an attempted murder charge. On Thursday, investigators have added a hate crime enhancement.
If convicted, he could face harsher penalties.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.