“My experience has taught me how to treat patients who are facing mental health crises. I know how to approach them with kindness and compassion—and I know how important that is for ensuring they get the care they need.”

Brittany Brandon speaking from the heart and from experience showed legislators why AB 2975 – Secure Hospitals for All — was vital legislation for protecting the physical safety of patients and healthcare workers alike. Brandon and nurses like her demanded a legal requirement that hospitals have metal detectors and trained personnel to operate them.

Brandon was one of a handful of witnesses called to testify before the Assembly Standing Committee on Labor and Employment at an April, 2024 hearing on AB 2975. Because of Brandon’s bedside nursing experience, she was able to paint lawmakers a vivid picture of life inside our hospitals. 

“Patients in emotional distress may become agitated, confused or paranoid,” Brandon told the legislators. “Those mental states can quickly turn into aggression, and that aggression is often focused on Nurses and other healthcare workers who are trying to provide them with care.”

Brandon’s words had a powerful impact because nurses and other healthcare workers are in a unique position to educate lawmakers and members of the public about the reality of day-to-day life caring for patients at the bedside. It’s a perspective that the legislators were unlikely to get from any other source — certainly not on a management-led hospital tour.

“Despite these dangers, I choose to work within this patient population. I have compassion for them, and I know that my experience makes me well suited to care for them,” Brandon continued. 

Everybody knows that nurses and licensed professionals are drawn to the profession by a passion for patient care. If caregivers are calling for change, it’s for a good reason.

Vital testimony from Brandon and other healthcare workers led the way to unanimous passage in the state legislature and the Governor’s signature — a victory for voices from the bedside.