An Ohio State nurse has publicly shared her experience following a violent workplace attack reported last November.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A nurse from Ohio State, who was reportedly assaulted at work last autumn, has broken her silence, asserting that safety conditions remain unchanged despite the hospital’s claims of improvements.
“I believed he intended to kill me. He was incredibly agitated, enraged,” stated Sam McLeod, a postpartum nurse at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center since 2017. “The terror I felt for my life is indescribable.”
The event occurred on November 6, 2025, as McLeod was concluding her shift in the postpartum unit. She encountered what she called “a violent fist fight” involving a newborn’s parents. The father, she noted, was holding both his toddler and the infant.
“He held the baby by the chest, without any head or neck support. The infant was being thrown around haphazardly,” McLeod recounted.
She attempted to calm the situation, but instead, the man attacked her, seizing her by the throat.
“He gripped my neck, twisted, dug his knuckles in, and began dragging me down the corridor,” she explained. “My only thought was of my daughter at home, wondering if I would survive my shift.”
According to an incident report, McLeod was dragged approximately 20 yards and strangled with her own lanyard.
“I pleaded with him to release me,” she recalled. “He retorted, ‘No, you’re coming with me.'”
“The fear for my life was beyond anything I can describe,” she reiterated.
McLeod stated that assistance was not immediately forthcoming.
“He could have killed me several times within those ten minutes, and no one came to help,” she asserted.
A representative from Wexner Medical Center reported that security responded within three minutes.
McLeod eventually freed herself from his grasp, but during the dragging, she confronted a harrowing choice.
“The most agonizing part was having to weigh risking that baby’s life against protecting my own,” she explained. “I couldn’t bring myself to endanger the infant.”
Months later, McLeod remains in recovery and has not resumed her duties.
“My life has been irrevocably changed,” she stated. “I developed a profound fear of people due to the random nature of the violence.”
McLeod noted she receives approximately 60% of her salary via workers’ compensation and faces difficulties in getting the hospital to fund her PTSD treatment.
“I feel as though I’m being punished for performing a good deed and protecting that child,” she expressed. “Caring for people, infants, and new mothers is a deep passion of mine, which has now been taken from me.”
The hospital’s representative stated that the nurse was provided support via Ohio State’s Employee Assistance Program and its Stress Trauma and Resilience program.
“We follow all protocols and stipulations set by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation when processing claims and treatment applications,” the spokesperson clarified.
McLeod explained her decision to speak out stems from her belief that workplace violence is more prevalent than generally acknowledged, and her desire to assist others.
“The rally held for me last fall could have easily been a vigil,” she remarked. “This occurs daily, not solely at OSU. I want to ensure other nurses and staff are safeguarded.”
Her statements coincide with the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center’s release on Thursday of its biannual Workplace Safety Update for July to December 2025, a report detailing purported improvements.
Hospital management asserts that clinical support calls and incident rates have decreased by 25% since 2021, despite system expansion. The report further highlights enhanced de-escalation training, greater deployment of specialized response teams, and stricter security screening.
However, the report’s internal data reveals an increase in recent years for some of the gravest situations, such as assaultive incidents and instances where staff needed to restrain aggressive patients.
“There are moments when the amount of de-escalation training we receive is irrelevant,” McLeod commented, reviewing the report. “In cases like mine, it simply won’t make a difference.”
She argued that emphasizing training unfairly places the burden of responsibility on the staff.
“The entire de-escalation initiative is merely an excuse for them,” she stated. “They intend to shift the blame onto us.”
Hospital leadership claims the reported progress stems from widespread staff engagement.
“These outcomes demonstrate what can be achieved when everyone participates in ensuring workplace safety and utilizes the provided resources,” stated Elizabeth Seely, chief administrative officer of the hospital division and co-chair of the Workplace Safety Steering Committee, in an online statement. “Our current progress is a credit to our team members’ involvement throughout the medical center, and we will continue soliciting their input for further enhancements.”
McLeod insisted that more tangible changes are required, such as mandated security response times and enhanced cooperation with university police.
“I am absolutely convinced that they are not doing everything within their power to safeguard us,” she asserted.
Asiakare Minor, 31, from Reynoldsburg, who faces charges of strangulation and unlawful restraint related to the assault, has entered a not guilty plea. His subsequent court date is set for April 27.
McLeod expressed hope that her public statements will instigate change, allowing her to soon return to her beloved work alongside her valued coworkers, who she believes merit improved conditions.
“I am advocating for them, seeking the protection they deserve, which I did not receive,” she concluded.