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My long-time friend Mary was held up at gunpoint this past Sunday, April 7th, on her way into work for the nightshift at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. Immediately after exiting her car in the employee parking lot, she was approached by three young men who pointed a gun at her chest and demanded her bag, keys, watch, and work badge and then fled in her car. With no security in sight, Mary screamed for help and ran about 1,000 feet before finding a stranger to help her.
The three men who robbed Mary at gunpoint were caught later that evening after engaging in a police chase and crashing Mary’s car into a tree. One man fled on foot and escaped. The other two were taken into custody and have since been released without incident.
Mary is a Registered Nurse and works in hospitalist medicine. She often works the night shift and parks in an employee parking lot two blocks away from the hospital. The hospital is in a crime-prone neighborhood and there is a Dallas Area Rapid Transit Station right in the middle of the campus. Having worked at Parkland for years, Mary took notice when she realized there was no longer security in the employee parking lot. She emailed a member of senior leadership, alerting them of the lack of security and the resulting vulnerability of the staff, and her supervisor then forwarded the email to the Chief of Police. The response was that they use to have officers patrol the employee lot, but they were cut because they were short staffed. This was several months ago. Since then Mary has raised the issue several times in employee reviews, but there has been no change.
Not only was there no security in the employee parking lot the night she was held up at gunpoint, but there was also no controlled access as the lot is under construction. All these factors made Mary, or any other Parkland employee, an easy target for a crime of this nature.
As a nurse, Mary’s job is to help people. She drives to a place that most people wouldn’t want to go, to do a job that most people aren’t willing or capable of doing, during hours that most people aren’t willing to work. Mary could easily work in a safer neighborhood, but she chooses to work for a needier, underserved population in what is often a thankless, and grief-ridden job. For an institution whose main mission is to help people, Parkland has failed the people who selflessly serve their community. They have failed to provide a secure and safe work environment for their employees, and they have failed to respond to employee concerns about work-place safety.
WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF BEING A VICTIM OF ARMED ROBBERY?
There are many obvious and some less obvious consequences of being victimized in this manner. There’s the financial burden – Mary immediately had to pay to have the locks changed on her house. She has to pay the deductible on her auto insurance for her car which was totaled and will have a new car payment for years, she has another deductible for the items which were stolen from her at gunpoint, she has medical deductibles and upfront costs for the therapy she will need and any medication she might be prescribed, and she is missing work while she deals with the aftermath and trauma of this event.
Then there are the intangibles – they stole her confidence, her sense of safety and security, and her love of showing up to work every day. She’s now terrified to return to the place where she has dedicated so much of her skill and compassion towards. She was forced to remove and hand over her watch, which was the last gift her mom gave her before she passed away not long ago. Mary’s not a weak person. In fact, she’s a very strong person who has dealt with a tremendous amount of adversity in the last several years. Regardless of her perseverance, it will inevitably take a considerable amount of time, therapy and hard work on her part to nurture the healing process and start to feel normal again.
WHAT ARE THE DONATIONS FOR?
There’s two parts to this fundraising goal:
1. Help Mary pay for the immediate replacement costs and recurring medical costs resulting from this event
Having to pay for a crime committed against you not only adds insult to injury, but it creates a real financial burden. We can’t change what happened to Mary, but we can help mitigate the weight of these costs.
2. Pay for legal fees associated with remedying the unsafe work environment at Parkland Hospital
Mary and every employee of Parkland deserves better than this. Every nurse, doctor and hospital staff member deserve to have safe access to their place of employment. There was an imminent safety concern which Parkland ignored. Parkland Hospital should be obligated to provide security for their employees.
WHY HELP MARY?
You may or may not know Mary. For those of you that do, no explanation is necessary. For those of you that don’t, I can tell you that she is one of the most giving and big-hearted people I know. I always tell Mary that the medical world is lucky to have her in it. She’s not just an expert in her field who takes patient care very seriously, but the compassion she demonstrates toward her patients is beyond admirable. The Dallas community is blessed to have Mary as a nurse, which is why we not only need to help her heal from this trauma, but need to fight to make Parkland a safer work environment so Mary and all other hospital workers can feel safe when they arrive to help people in their most vulnerable states.
I don’t know how she finds the time, but when Mary is not working, she’s an avid volunteer in the Dallas community. She is a member of the Dallas Junior League, a volunteer docent in training at Bush Presidential Library, a supporter of the American Heart Association, and she fosters dogs through the Cavalier King Charles Rescue Association and other local rescue operations (cover photo is one of her many foster dogs). Mary has dedicated a large portion of her life to helping other people, which is why now, in her time of need, I am asking you to help her. Every donation counts, no matter the size. And if you can’t donate, we would greatly appreciate you sharing this in order to raise awareness.
Thank you so much for all of the love and support you have shown Mary during this difficult time.
The three men who robbed Mary at gunpoint were caught later that evening after engaging in a police chase and crashing Mary’s car into a tree. One man fled on foot and escaped. The other two were taken into custody and have since been released without incident.
Mary is a Registered Nurse and works in hospitalist medicine. She often works the night shift and parks in an employee parking lot two blocks away from the hospital. The hospital is in a crime-prone neighborhood and there is a Dallas Area Rapid Transit Station right in the middle of the campus. Having worked at Parkland for years, Mary took notice when she realized there was no longer security in the employee parking lot. She emailed a member of senior leadership, alerting them of the lack of security and the resulting vulnerability of the staff, and her supervisor then forwarded the email to the Chief of Police. The response was that they use to have officers patrol the employee lot, but they were cut because they were short staffed. This was several months ago. Since then Mary has raised the issue several times in employee reviews, but there has been no change.
Not only was there no security in the employee parking lot the night she was held up at gunpoint, but there was also no controlled access as the lot is under construction. All these factors made Mary, or any other Parkland employee, an easy target for a crime of this nature.
As a nurse, Mary’s job is to help people. She drives to a place that most people wouldn’t want to go, to do a job that most people aren’t willing or capable of doing, during hours that most people aren’t willing to work. Mary could easily work in a safer neighborhood, but she chooses to work for a needier, underserved population in what is often a thankless, and grief-ridden job. For an institution whose main mission is to help people, Parkland has failed the people who selflessly serve their community. They have failed to provide a secure and safe work environment for their employees, and they have failed to respond to employee concerns about work-place safety.
WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF BEING A VICTIM OF ARMED ROBBERY?
There are many obvious and some less obvious consequences of being victimized in this manner. There’s the financial burden – Mary immediately had to pay to have the locks changed on her house. She has to pay the deductible on her auto insurance for her car which was totaled and will have a new car payment for years, she has another deductible for the items which were stolen from her at gunpoint, she has medical deductibles and upfront costs for the therapy she will need and any medication she might be prescribed, and she is missing work while she deals with the aftermath and trauma of this event.
Then there are the intangibles – they stole her confidence, her sense of safety and security, and her love of showing up to work every day. She’s now terrified to return to the place where she has dedicated so much of her skill and compassion towards. She was forced to remove and hand over her watch, which was the last gift her mom gave her before she passed away not long ago. Mary’s not a weak person. In fact, she’s a very strong person who has dealt with a tremendous amount of adversity in the last several years. Regardless of her perseverance, it will inevitably take a considerable amount of time, therapy and hard work on her part to nurture the healing process and start to feel normal again.
WHAT ARE THE DONATIONS FOR?
There’s two parts to this fundraising goal:
1. Help Mary pay for the immediate replacement costs and recurring medical costs resulting from this event
Having to pay for a crime committed against you not only adds insult to injury, but it creates a real financial burden. We can’t change what happened to Mary, but we can help mitigate the weight of these costs.
2. Pay for legal fees associated with remedying the unsafe work environment at Parkland Hospital
Mary and every employee of Parkland deserves better than this. Every nurse, doctor and hospital staff member deserve to have safe access to their place of employment. There was an imminent safety concern which Parkland ignored. Parkland Hospital should be obligated to provide security for their employees.
WHY HELP MARY?
You may or may not know Mary. For those of you that do, no explanation is necessary. For those of you that don’t, I can tell you that she is one of the most giving and big-hearted people I know. I always tell Mary that the medical world is lucky to have her in it. She’s not just an expert in her field who takes patient care very seriously, but the compassion she demonstrates toward her patients is beyond admirable. The Dallas community is blessed to have Mary as a nurse, which is why we not only need to help her heal from this trauma, but need to fight to make Parkland a safer work environment so Mary and all other hospital workers can feel safe when they arrive to help people in their most vulnerable states.
I don’t know how she finds the time, but when Mary is not working, she’s an avid volunteer in the Dallas community. She is a member of the Dallas Junior League, a volunteer docent in training at Bush Presidential Library, a supporter of the American Heart Association, and she fosters dogs through the Cavalier King Charles Rescue Association and other local rescue operations (cover photo is one of her many foster dogs). Mary has dedicated a large portion of her life to helping other people, which is why now, in her time of need, I am asking you to help her. Every donation counts, no matter the size. And if you can’t donate, we would greatly appreciate you sharing this in order to raise awareness.
Thank you so much for all of the love and support you have shown Mary during this difficult time.