Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Nebraska Medicine employee stabbed in the face after insisting on drawing blood from patient

Zachery Dvorak was arrested for assault on a healthcare worker and use of a weapon to commit a felony 
Omaha police said that a 37-year-old man is facing felony charges for assault on a healthcare worker after he is alleged to have stabbed a staff member in the face at the University of Nebraska Medical Center on Friday.

Prior to the incident, the patient is said to have explicitly refused a blood draw
According to a hospital spokesman, Zacherey Dvorak refused to have his blood drawn by UNMC phlebotomist Meagan Strande, 30, around 8:30 a.m. last Friday on the fourth floor of the Lied Transplant Center at UNMC.

As Strande ignored the patient's refusal and continued to attempt to draw blood from the man, Dvorak suddenly attacked the healthcare worker with a weapon that he fashioned from ordinary items found in his room.

Other staff members and the medical center's security officers had to restrain Dvorak until police arrived to take him into custody.

The injured employee was taken to the emergency room, where she was treated for a small laceration to the face, which required stitches.