Death of a Visitor at the Children's Center

Dear Colleagues,

We are writing to update you about the death of a visitor in a patient's room in the Johns Hopkins Children's Center on Friday afternoon.

We greatly appreciate and are thankful for the responsiveness, professionalism and compassion displayed by our security team and Children's Center employees throughout this tragic event. The Baltimore City Police Department investigated the death, and later determined it arose from a domestic dispute. An arrest has been made and charges have been filed against another visitor who had departed the premises.

This was an isolated incident and at no time were our patients, staff or other visitors in danger. The security team's primary focus is the safety of all staff, patients and visitors, and they closely followed the protocol for communication during an unexpected event like this one. If there had been any possibility that others were in danger, please be assured that appropriate widespread notification would have been made through our RAVE system.

During difficult situations, we often turn to each other for comfort and support — something that makes our community such a strong one. In coming days, please look for opportunities to be helpful to and supportive of one another, especially to the faculty and staff in the Johns Hopkins Children's Center. A Peace Debriefing for the center's staff and others who have been directly affected by the event has been planned for Monday, Oct. 16, at noon in Schaffer Auditorium. We also want to make sure you are aware of the resources available through the Faculty and Staff Assistance Program, which is available 24 hours a day and can be contacted at (443) 997-7000.

We extend our heartfelt sympathies to our young patient and the family of the deceased, and will continue to support them however we can.

Sincerely,

Redonda G. Miller, M.D., M.B.A.
President
The Johns Hopkins Hospital

Charlie Reuland, Sc.D.
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
The Johns Hopkins Hospital