The U. has an armed officer stationed in the ER 24 hours a day, supplemented by hospital security. A spokesman for the hospital said the facility also takes other precautions. For example, when a victim of a crime is brought to the hospital and a perpetrator hasn't been caught yet, the emergency room is put in lockdown.

McKay-Dee Hospital recently started putting an armed guard in its ER around the clock.

"We know the Ogden corridor is becoming more violent," said Steve Keller, an ER nurse at McKay-Dee. "It's better to do preventable measures than have to react later on.

"People get frustrated, people are often at their wit's end when they come to an emergency room. I think the circumstances that bring them to the emergency room may be the thing that pushes them over the edge."

Other measures being taken to protect ER workers include some states asking their legislatures to make it a felony to injure a health-care worker, Mason said. Some hospitals will expel a patient from coming into their facility for a year for any reason if that patient attacks a health-care worker, she said.

"We've got to educate the public this is happening to nurses," Mason said.

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