Nurses ask Ohio lawmakers to take care of them

COLUMBUS (AP) — People in the nursing profession are calling on Ohio lawmakers for action to curb assaults on nurses.

Nancie Bechtel, president of the Ohio State Council of the Emergency Nurses Association, says nurses face the threat of being hit on a daily basis. Experts say most of the assaults occur in hospital emergency rooms or psychiatric units.

More than 400 nurses and nursing students planned to visit the Ohio Statehouse today to meet with lawmakers about the risks for nurses, and also about frustrations including staffing shortages.

Assaulting a nurse is currently a misdemeanor in Ohio, but a bill introduced last week would make it a felony, carrying up to 18 months in jail.

Bechtel says she hopes legislators will do the right thing for nurses.