In our series, Part of the Job , we’ve looked at how California’s health institutions are trying to reduce the rate of violence and harassment against those who work in health care. Working in one of the highest risk areas of a hospital only adds to the challenge. Saint Agnes Medical Center in Fresno’s emergency department of sees anyone who comes through their doors, and that includes patients “shopping” for opioid prescriptions. “They’ll say, but these are prescriptions, these were given to me,” says Joyce Eden, Saint Agnes’s emergency services director. “Yes they were, but now how you’re using them isn’t to treat pain, you’re actually now using them for the high and the other feelings you get.” She says that sometimes, things escalate. “We actually have had to call Fresno police department periodically, we have to notify security because when we let them know we’re not able to refill their narcotics or other opioid prescriptions that they have, we do get threatened and we have to
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