Nurse brutally attacked by 15-year-old girl at Tryon Hell night every night


By SHERRY HALBROOK We all have bad days at work


sometimes, but nurse Cheryl Huxhold’s shift the night of May 17 at Tryon Residential Center for girls in Johnstown (See related story page 8), crossed the line. It’s the one she would most like to forget, but will always remember. It was hell, and she has the


injuries to prove it. Huxhold wants the public to


HUXHOLD


know what it is really like inside facilities, such as Tryon, operated by the state Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). The PEF member shared her story with


reporters a week after that awful night. “I had to speak up, for everyone’s


sake,” Huxhold said. It started when Huxhold, the only


woman available, responded to an urgent request for a female staff member to go to one of the housing units. The urgent call for help came from PEF


member Wayne Blom, a youth counselor, who was trying to hold a meeting with girls on the unit to discuss problems that had arisen earlier in the day. The meeting was being disrupted by a


15-year-old girl who pulled up her shirt, exposed her breasts to the counselor, and began taunting him. When Blom tried to ignore the girl, she


pulled down a book case, stood on it, put her hand down her pants and smeared


By DEBORAH A. MILES Much to the surprise of one PEF nurse,


vaginal fluid on him. OCFS rules allow staff to touch


the youths only in self defense and prohibit male staff from looking at girls when they are not dressed. “When I arrived, the girl was


running up and down the halls in nothing but her underpants,” Huxhold said. “The other girls told her to stop, but she wouldn’t listen. I tried to get her into her room, but she started groping me and trying


to kiss me. I pushed her away and told her to put her clothes back on, but she refused and crawled under her desk.” The girl was holding a pen and some


wires, which she was not allowed to have because she had been threatening to kill herself. Whenever Huxhold tried to take the


pen away, the girl bit her hand, spat on her and stabbed her in the legs with the pen. “I told her it is a felony to assault a


nurse,” Huxhold said, “but she threatened to kill me and said she’d get off because she’s a juvenile.” Abruptly, the girl lunged out from


under the desk, grabbed Huxhold by the hair and began slamming her head into the wall. “It all happened so quickly,” Huxhold


said. “She was punching, kicking and stabbing me with the pen as they tried to get her off me.” When Blom finally pulled the attacker


she was honored with the “Staff RN Excellence in Practice Award” at the Rockland County Nurse Recognition Day celebration in Orangeburg during National Nurses Week in May. “I’m not the kind of person who basks


in glory. I like to work behind the scenes. I was very humbled, honored and surprised when my name was called,” said Noreen Patrone, a nurse at Rockland Psychiatric Center. Nursing director at Rockland Children’s


Psychiatric Center, Belle Villafuerte, who handed out the awards, described Patrone as a very positive and energetic, hands-on nurse who steps right in to help and guide staff during medical and psychiatric emergencies. Patrone was selected, in part, for her role in the development of an orientation


www.pef.org


and continued-competency program. She designed an education plan to help staff prepare for a smooth transition to convert a unit to become co-educational. She also spearheaded organized walking groups on the units that are enjoyed by both patients and staff. Barbara Serafin,


PATRONE


another Rockland PC nurse and member of the


PEF Nurses Committee, said Patrone worked with other nurses on a study to retain nurses at that facility. “As a result, some of their


recommendations were adopted by management and the turnover rate has declined, with a zero vacancy rate,” Serafin said.


HURTS—PEF nurse Cheryl Huxhold was stabbed repeatedly in the legs by a girl atTryon Residential Center.


off her, some of the other girls helped Huxhold get to her office and call for the police. Huxhold was taken to a hospital in Amsterdam with


a concussion, a broken tooth, a chipped tooth, and multiple cuts, puncture wounds and bruises. The girl was transferred from the


“limited-secure” unit to a secure unit at Tryon and has been charged. Most of the events were recorded by security cameras. “I decided to speak out because it’s


time someone stands up to say, ‘Enough is enough,’” Huxhold said. “The violence has reached an alarming level. The youths are assaulting one another and staff on a regular basis.” The state Department of Civil Service


ranks OCFS the state’s most dangerous place to work. Huxhold said the level of violence and


arrests has been escalating since OCFS prohibited staff from restraining youths who are out of control, and imposed other restrictions on staff. She said the youths need to be held


accountable for their actions. “I would like to see them actually have


consequences. They have no accountability at this point. They do what they want, when they want.”


Rockland PC honors PEF nurse with excellence award Patrone began her nursing career on a


medical-surgical unit. “It wasn’t long before I realized to


provide complete nursing care to an individual, a nurse needs knowledge of the individual’s emotional well-being and support system,” Patrone said. “Delving into this pivotal arena of patient care and through continued education, it became apparent I was falling in love with psychiatric nursing. The rest, as they say, is history.” This was the 29th year for the event


that took place at Dominican College in Blauvelt. Rockland PC participated with other area health care facilities. Other PEF nurses who were nominated


for the award were: Jain Antony, Patricia Cabbell, Carol Charles, Elsamma Devasia, Roseline Fildor, Lalu George, Molly George, Molamma Mathew, Rikki Tolentino and Sciencia Torchon.


The Communicator July-August 2011—Page 9


HEALTH & SAFETY


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