Nurse Allegedly Strangled Trying to Protect Newborn at OSU Hospital

On November 6, 2025, a postpartum nurse at Ohio State University's Rhodes Hall was allegedly assaulted by a hospital visitor while trying to protect a newborn baby. The incident occurred just months after nurses at the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center ratified a union contract, with protections for medical staff being a major sticking point in the negotiations.

According to the Ohio Nurses Association (ONA), the state's largest nurses' union, the nurse was attacked when she tried to intervene in an altercation between the newborn's mother and a male visitor. The union claims the male visitor strangled the nurse during the incident. Hospital security and OSU police officers responded to the situation, securing the baby and detaining the visitor, who now faces charges of assault, violation of a protection order, and unlawful restraint.

However, the nurses' union has accused the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center of failing to properly respond to the alleged assault and intentionally minimizing the situation. ONA president Rick Lucas stated that the nurse was not checked on by management or offered medical care after the incident. The union has also expressed a lack of confidence in the hospital's leadership, calling for the chief administrative officer to resign.

This incident highlights the persistent issue of workplace violence against nurses, which has been steadily increasing in hospitals and other healthcare settings nationwide. The Ohio State University Nurses Organization, the specific nursing union at the university, had previously raised concerns about violence against staff as a major concern during contract negotiations.