A shot was fired during an altercation with a patient inside the emergency department at Lincoln Health in Hugo, Colorado, Tuesday night. Nobody was injured, and the person involved in the incident was taken into custody after Lincoln County Sheriff's deputies responded and brought the situation under control.
According to FOX31 Denver, Lincoln Health Chief Executive Officer Kevin Stansbury said the hospital's team “responded with courage, quick thinking, and commitment to one another,” and he described the staff's actions as brave during what he called an unexpected and serious situation. Stansbury also expressed gratitude toward Sheriff Tom Nestor and the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office for their immediate response and continued partnership with the hospital.
Sheriff Nestor offered his own praise for the emergency department team in comments reported by The Limon Leader. “Your staff did great from every level,” Nestor said, adding that the quick actions of hospital personnel “definitely saved lives.” His comments underscore just how serious the confrontation became before deputies arrived and restored order.
Hospital Says Emergency Department Remains Safe
The hospital has said its emergency department is safe and that operations continued as they normally would in the aftermath of the incident. Lincoln Health has also said it will cooperate fully with the ongoing law-enforcement investigation and will conduct its own internal review of the incident, though details of what that review will examine have not been released.
Lincoln Health operates as a Critical Access Hospital at 111 6th Street in Hugo, featuring an award-winning Level IV Trauma Center and a 24/7 emergency department that serves Lincoln County and the surrounding plains, according to Lincoln County, Colorado. The hospital also maintains two ambulances, and it has partnered with AirLife Denver since September 2015 to keep critical care air evacuation capability stationed on-site. Emergency transport staff also help cover the emergency department when they are not out on calls, per the hospital's own materials.
A Regional Healthcare Anchor With Deep Roots
The health system traces its roots back to 1959, when it was founded as Lincoln Community Hospital before rebranding to Lincoln Health around 2019, according to background compiled by Purple Door Finders. Today it operates family practice clinics in Limon, Hugo, Flagler, and Byers, making it a central healthcare anchor for residents scattered across Eastern Colorado's rural plains.
Sheriff Nestor has served with the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office since 1989 and has held the elected office of sheriff continuously since 2007, overseeing public safety across the county, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. His office's swift response to Tuesday night's altercation reflects the close working relationship rural hospitals often maintain with local law enforcement, given the limited on-site security resources available at small critical access facilities.
Colorado Assault Law
Colorado law addresses assault charges generally, according to the McDowell Law Firm. The article also discusses workplace-violence prevention.
The broader discussion includes workplace violence in healthcare settings. It also addresses healthcare and social-service personnel.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 1.14 million injuries to workers in the healthcare industry were treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments between 2015 and 2017. A systematic review available through the National Institutes of Health's PubMed Central found that 77% of emergency-department staff reported exposure to workplace violence.
Kevin Stansbury is Lincoln Health's chief executive officer. It remains unclear who the patient involved in Tuesday night's altercation was, what specific charges the district attorney may file, or whether the firearm belonged to the patient or was seized during the struggle. Lincoln Health has not yet detailed what physical security enhancements, if any, will follow its internal review.
