Home Health & Hospice Week

A fear of many home health nurses came true for one visiting staffer in Washington state.

Douglas Brant, a nurse in Spokane for Providence Home Health, was shot and killed by his patient’s grandson on his first visit to the patient’s home. The 33-year-old grandson had a history of mental health and legal troubles, according to press reports. The man shot Brant without prior warning, according to law enforcement.

Brant worked for Providence for nearly 20 years, KREM reports.

Providence Home Health is “supporting his coworkers, who are devastated by the tragic loss of their friend and colleague,” the agency says in a statement shared with press. Brant’s “loss will be grieved by the many patients and caregivers whose lives he made better through his healing work,” it says.

“This murder took place while Doug was on the job,” notes the Washington State Nurses Association, where Brant was formerly a treasurer. “Workplace violence has become an all-too-familiar part of the job for nurses — and it shouldn’t be. In fact, workplace violence against nurses has risen during the pandemic. We hear of nurses being punched, kicked, scratched on a too regular basis, but a killing is rare and horrific,” the association says in a statement.