6 Healthcare
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Jack Levin
Abstract
This chapter suggests that hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical facilities are potential hotbeds for covert violence, if for no other reason than the fact that many people die there every year. After all, patients typically check into a hospital because of serious illness or injury, and nursing homes are intended for those in need of round-the-clock care. Although most of the sick and injured who seek care (in the United States and other economically advanced nations) are treated and then released on the road to recovery, many others die on the operating table or in their hospital bed. Because death is very much part of life in healthcare facilities, it unfortunately also makes them places where a killer can operate unnoticed for long periods of time without being discovered. However, healthcare workers who covertly target patients are rarely physicians; they are more often members of staff with far less power, including orderlies, nurse’s aides, and home-healthcare workers.
Abstract
This chapter suggests that hospitals, nursing homes, and other medical facilities are potential hotbeds for covert violence, if for no other reason than the fact that many people die there every year. After all, patients typically check into a hospital because of serious illness or injury, and nursing homes are intended for those in need of round-the-clock care. Although most of the sick and injured who seek care (in the United States and other economically advanced nations) are treated and then released on the road to recovery, many others die on the operating table or in their hospital bed. Because death is very much part of life in healthcare facilities, it unfortunately also makes them places where a killer can operate unnoticed for long periods of time without being discovered. However, healthcare workers who covertly target patients are rarely physicians; they are more often members of staff with far less power, including orderlies, nurse’s aides, and home-healthcare workers.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Figures and Tables iv
- About the Authors v
- Acknowledgments vii
- An Introduction to Covert Violence, Power, and Social Institutions 1
- Family and Close Relationships 22
- Formal Education 47
- The Workplace 62
- Politics and Government 74
- Healthcare 90
- Mass Media 104
- Shining Light on the Shadows 116
- Case Summaries 131
- Index 148
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents iii
- List of Figures and Tables iv
- About the Authors v
- Acknowledgments vii
- An Introduction to Covert Violence, Power, and Social Institutions 1
- Family and Close Relationships 22
- Formal Education 47
- The Workplace 62
- Politics and Government 74
- Healthcare 90
- Mass Media 104
- Shining Light on the Shadows 116
- Case Summaries 131
- Index 148
