Suspect Arrested in Attack on ICU Nurse in Louisiana

(NEW ORLEANS) – A man accused of assaulting an ICU nurse at an Ochsner-affiliated medical facility in Gretna on Jan. 28  was arrested in St. Bernard Parish on Feb. 6 to be charged with battery of a healthcare worker once transferred to Jefferson Parish, according to a report from Nola.com. The suspect was identified as Quincy Quinn, 48, of Metairie. 

According to a Facebook post by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, “Quinn was identified through a combination of Crimestoppers tips and witness testimony.” Crimestoppers GNO originally offered a reward of $2,500 to anyone who could identify Quinn. Ochsner Health later donated another $10,000, increasing the total reward to $12,500. 

Quincy Quinn, 48, was arrested on Feb. 6 in connection with the assault. [Credit: Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office]

The attack is the latest in a series of assaults on local healthcare workers during the pandemic. 

“There is nothing more important to us than the safety and security of our employees and our patients. Workplace violence in any form – physical, verbal, non-verbal, or emotional – is unacceptable, and we will not tolerate this behavior,” Warren Thomas, president and CEO of Ochsner Health, said in a statement Monday addressing the violence.

 In his statement, Thomas also implored lawmakers to make violence against health care workers a felony, among other protections. In February 2021, a man attacked two nurses with a knife at an Ochsner LSU facility in Shreveport. In February 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic began, Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge added 13 security officers to allow for 24-hour coverage due to the national rise in violence against healthcare workers. 

Last year, the Louisiana House introduced a bill to require violence prevention plans for healthcare and social service workers. It passed The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act on April 16. The Louisiana Senate later referred it to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. 

According to current Louisiana law, Quinn could face a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in prison and up to five years if convicted of assaulting the healthcare worker.