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Injured Vacaville Nurse Says Patient Needed Police Escort

VACAVILLE (CBS13) — A Vacaville nurse says she was injured on the job by a patient who should have had a police escort.

Jennifer Erickson was working in the emergency room at Northbay Healthcare when she noticed a patient was wearing handcuffs.

"I said, "Where's the officer?' Well, he's not coming, but he gave me the keys so it's OK," she said.

Wanting to make sure the patient was OK, Jennifer and a few other nurses began working on her. That's when Jennifer said the patient became combative.

"If I had a police officer that's trained in dealing with these patients, especially one determined to be a threat, then I think it would have changed," she said.

While trying to hold down the patient, Jennifer was hurt. That was 18 months ago, and now she may not be able to continue helping people as a nurse -- her dream since high school, she says.

"I loved what I did, but that night changed it all."

Northbay Healthcare says that they don't have a specific policy on what to do with a handcuffed patient.

"Each instance can vary depending on the behavior of the individual," said security director Rich Cinfio.

Jennifer says she's been out of work the past three weeks and her surgery recently was canceled. She's hoping to reschedule it so she can get back to doing the job she loves.

Dixon Police say they don't have a record of the instance. Jennifer says the police told her to make a formal complaint, but she never did.

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