Tributes continue to pour in for the two hospital workers gunned down at Methodist Dallas Medical Center on Saturday.
On Wednesday, North Texans are being asked to pause to remember the two Methodist Dallas employees who were killed Saturday. The Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council is asking all of its hospital partners and the community to hold a moment of silence at noon for the two women, Jacqueline Pokuaa and Katie Flowers.
Pokuaa and Flowers have been called healthcare heroes. They were two women with impactful and flourishing careers until their lives were cut down violently at Dallas Methodist Medical Center. They were doing their jobs when a man visiting a patient opened fire. It's raised questions about how to keep our frontline workers safe.
In the aftermath of what happened at Methodist, NBC 5 learned there was a team at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas on Tuesday for a security assessment, and they plan to return and continue that assessment Wednesday. All this as people are in still in shock by what happened just a few days ago.
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The Texas Nurses Association is now calling for more attention on hospital safety. The association said incidents of workplace violence among healthcare workers have been rising since before the pandemic. And, citing numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rate of 12.7 violent events for 10,000 full-time workers is about three times greater for RNs than all other professions.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins agreed and said it is top of mind.
“We've got a team at Parkland today and tomorrow looking at how we can beef up security in our hospital,” Jenkins said.
He said they'll adjust where needed.
“They'll tell us where our vulnerabilities and weaknesses are and different avenues for us to address those,” he said.
NBC 5 has reached out to the family and friends of the two victims in hopes of sharing their stories. By all accounts, they were women known for their kind hearts and commitment to helping others.
Katie “Annette” Flowers, 63, had been a nurse in Texas since 1981, according to online registered nurse records. A GoFundMe online fundraiser states Flowers had four kids and five grandchildren.
"She was an excellent postpartum nurse who cared deeply for the moms and babies she cared for and a passionate patient advocate," said Patti Iker, who said she is Flowers' former colleague.
Jacqueline “Jackie” Pokuaa, 45, came to the United States from Ghana years ago. She was a social worker at Methodist Dallas and was doing her normal rounds on Saturday morning when she was killed.
Pakuaa had a master's degree from the University of Texas at Arlington's School of Social Work. The school released a statement also calling for better protection.
Now, both families are mourning.
“As social workers, it is our responsibility to protect individuals and families and serve the community as best as we can in a variety of unique circumstances. Often times this puts us in risky situations when people are at their most vulnerable. More work must be done to protect social workers, health care workers and other community providers from dangerous life-threatening situations in the workplace," the university said in a statement.
Steven Love, president of the DFW Hospital Council, understands the outcry and said there are many variables to consider.
“It's a delicate balance to try to accommodate the needs of the patient, the patient's family and the loved ones and keep a secure, safe environment,” said Love.
We're told Pakuaa's mother is working with Methodist Dallas on travel arrangements to the United States so that she can continue to plan her daughter's funeral.
Flowers leaves behind four children and five grandchildren according to a verified Gofundme account.
“I have found memories of her as a student,” said Kiva Harper, associate professor of practice in the school of social work at the University of Texas at Arlington.
Harper said she had Pokuaa in two classes at UTA, beginning in 2017.
“[She was] very focused, very serious about school. She had a very strong work ethic,” said Harper. “I remember telling her a few times, ‘Relax, just relax! Enjoy the learning,’ but she was very focused on making As and making sure her instructors knew how committed she was to her education.”
According to other colleagues at UTA, Pokuaa loved to cook.
She searched for a job that would allow her to spend as much time as possible with her young son.
“I think the thing that I’m going to remember most about her was what a wonderful mom she was and how much she loved her son,” said Harper. “Anyone who’s in the field of social work has a heart for helping people and she did that.”
Jenkins announced Tuesday that his office is working to help secure a visa so that Pokuaa’s mother in Ghana can travel to the U.S. for funeral services.
The Dallas-Fort Worth Hospital Council will observe one minute of silence on Wednesday in honor of Pokuaa and Flowers.
Editor's note: In a previous version of this article, a photo was used that was not of one of the victims from Saturday's shooting. It has since been removed. We apologize for the error.
