GREEN BAY, Wis. (NBC 26) — Green Bay police are investigating a reported carjacking that happened late last week at HSHS St. Mary's Hospital.
Police say two teenagers — who are now in custody — hit a St. Mary's nurse on the head with a fake gun and stole her car.
The carjacking incident happened late at night.
But a Prevea Health medical assistant says these incidents can happen at any time.
"Just knowing walking out by yourself necessarily doesn't make it safe whether it's light out or dark out," Prevea Health CMA Whitney Klatt said.
Klatt works first shift hours, so she says she usually doesn't have concerns walking to or from work.
Prevea and St. Mary's staff work closely together.
But because of the carjacking, Klatt does have some safety concerns.
"I know, like before COVID, I think security drove around a little bit more," Klatt said. "But we really haven't seen that recently. So, I mean it would be nice to see that a little bit more."
A spokesperson from both HSHS and Prevea tells NBC 26 the health and safety of everyone is their top priority.
In a statement, HSHS St. Mary's says, "The health and safety of every person on our hospital campus is our top priority. We have a dedicated and highly experienced security team and right now, we’re working closely with them to assess the circumstances surrounding this matter and what, if any additional steps or resources may be implemented to ensure something like this can be prevented from happening again in the future. We also continue to offer our prayers and support to our dear colleague impacted by this."
Prevea tells NBC 26, "At Prevea Health, we take the safety of everyone – patients, visitors, employees, physicians and providers – very seriously. We have a dedicated security team that ensures we have appropriate measures and resources in place at all our locations throughout Wisconsin should any incident related to safety and security occur."
Bellin Health's parking areas are under video surveillance 24/7.
Team leader of security Al Halla says an officer also patrols areas outside the facility.
Since the St. Mary's incident, Halla says Bellin Health has ramped up its number of parking lot patrols.
"We always listen to our employees," Halla said. "We take these types of situations very serious."
And even though there's more security than before, Halla encourages healthcare workers to be aware of their surroundings.
"And if you see something, make sure you say something," Halla said.
Carjackings in Green Bay are rare.
Police tell NBC 26 that in the last five years, there have been six carjackings. Four of those cases were robberies where someone's car was taken with force of threat of force, similar to the St. Mary's incident. Police say the other two cases happened where drivers were forced or threatened out of their cars.
