Visiting Nurse’s Murder Leads To $6 Million Grant Program To Improve Safety For Health Care Workers

HARTFORD, CT – On Monday, Gov. Ned Lamont and a bipartisan group of legislators talked about Joyce Grayson, the nurse who was murdered a year ago while visiting a patient with a checkered history in a home in the Willimantic section of Windham.

They were at the state Capitol to celebrate the launch of a $6-million grant program that is being set up to pay for security that visiting nurses can request before they visit the homes of patients whose profiles indicates they are a potential risk to the healthcare worker.

Agencies like the one Grayson worked for will be able to apply to the state Department of Social Services for funding to hire security personnel to help keep nurses safe. The program, according to Social Services Commissioner Andrea Barton Reeves, is just getting off the ground. She said they are in the process of setting up systems to conduct risk assessments for every home health patient before a nurse is sent to visit.

It’s not yet clear how far the $6 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds will go considering that there are tens of thousands of people being cared for by visiting nurses and home health care workers.   

Sen. Martha Marx, a Democrat from New London who is also a registered nurse in her day job, championed the legislation with others during the legislative session that ended in May. She said she thinks that it’s only a small percentage of those patients who pose a signficant risk, but Barton-Reeves said that the $6 million is a start and that agencies that apply for grants are likely also going to have to cover some costs on their own as well.

Marx lauded Grayson and memorialized her briefly during the news conference.

“I do think it’s important to say that we are making this investment because of the tragic death of Joyce Grayson, who was a home health care nurse in Windham. Joyce lost her life caring for other people,” Marx said. “And she was someone who cared for people throughout her life. Her family fostered 35 Children from infants to teens and had some children that had a lot of very complex medical needs.”

Marx continued: “Joyce was a hero. And today we do this in her honor. And in fact, the Department of Children and Families recognized Joyce in 2017 for her family’s commitment and her commitment to our children. And I know that we’re all here, we’re remembering her legacy and her contributions. And this investment in our home health care worker safety is done in honor of Joyce and her sacrifice.This program is going to include mobile applications for accessing client safety information and also GPS-enabled devices that will be used to help in contacting local police officers and emergency personnel if necessary.”

Barton Reeves said her staff is still working to get the application portal set up on the DSS website, but she expects that to be done soon.

In his remarks, Lamont said he’s been touched over the last six to 12 months by the tragedies – “some of them avoidable” – that have befallen state workers. He said that just like state employees put themselves at risk every day, home health care workers put themselves at risk every time they walk into a home. 

“You’ve seen it with our police administering just a routine traffic ticket. You’ve seen our DOT folks working on the side of the road, construction people, some of the danger there. And you’ve heard the story of Joyce Grayson just doing her best to help out a patient,” Lamont said. “And it’s the right thing to do for Joyce and her family and all our home health care workers. We’ve got to show that we take seriously your safety every day. What this means in terms of other home health care workers, they’re going to now have a hotline, a helpline.”

Lamont continued: “They can press immediately if they feel at some risk. We’re going to have a GPS monitoring system. We’re going to know where you are so we can respond accordingly. We’re going to have some pre-analysis so we know the type of situation you’re coming into. See if it’s OK that you do that alone, or perhaps you need a buddy to escort you. Do everything we can within reason to keep you safe. It’s the right thing to do for you. It’s the right thing for us to do as we try and recruit more health care workers.”

Lamont also said the state is making efforts to increase wages for health care workers, and have started forgiving student loans to increase the number of health care workers in the state. 

He said home health care is a big piece of what the future of elder care is going to look like in Connecticut. 

“Thank you so much, Martha, for taking the lead on this,” Lamont said.