Rep. Klarides-Ditria Addresses Safety Concerns of Visiting Nurses

Following the horrific murder of a Visiting Nurse in Willimantic only days earlier, Rep. Klarides-Ditria joined her legislative colleagues, healthcare providers and concerned stakeholders for a press conference calling attention to the dangers Visiting Nurses and other healthcare workers face when treating patients outside the clinical or hospital setting.

While many pointed to specific dangers related to specific treatment settings and tried to frame the narrative as a public health problem, Rep. Klarides-Ditria noted firmly that violence toward anyone, especially healthcare workers, is a public safety issue.

“Good intentions and kind words are no longer enough and we must, we must recommit to holding offenders accountable for their actions.  Legislators, law enforcement, and the judicial system need to work together to implement strong, effective penalties for those who refuse to abide by the rules of our polite society.  Violent offenders should be held until they have proven beyond a reasonable shadow of a doubt that they are able to rejoin our communities. If they choose to offend then the penalties should be harsher … We failed this woman and we failed our system and our community. This isn’t only a healthcare issue, it’s a public safety issue.”