Student addictions worker recounts beating with bat and pool balls

Student addictions worker Jackie Healey is in excruciating pain and may have permanently lost sight in one eye after she was attacked with a baseball bat.

Healey, 23, was on her final night of work placement at the Selkirk Behavioural Health Foundation on Sunday, but before the end of her shift, she was attacked and left in a pool of blood.

"I woke up, and I was just — my head felt like it was going to explode. The pain was so excruciating. I've never, ever been in this much pain in my life," Healey said from her hospital bed on Tuesday. "I never expected to be in this position, you know? For me to not have my eyesight, that scares me. The doctors are telling me they don't even know if I'll get it back."

Healey and another worker were attacked, and Healey's truck and phone were stolen.

RCMP have arrested two suspects, age 16 and 17. The pair were taken into custody just before 2 a.m. on Tuesday. Charges against the two have not yet been finalized.

The night she was attacked, only four people were at the centre — Healey, her supervisor and two youth residents.

Healey said she was asked to take two boys to the basement so they could play games and that's when she noticed one of the boys acting strangely.

"I looked back, and I said, 'What are you doing?' because he's just staring into my eyes, and he wouldn't say anything to me," said Healey. 

She said one boy grabbed a broken foosball pole and was dragging it and hitting it on the ground.

"I asked, 'Are you OK? Is something wrong?' and he didn't say anything," she said. "I ran up the stairs as fast as I could, and the boy ran behind me, and as soon as I got to the top, he was right behind me with the stick."

Later in the evening, Healey and her supervisor prepared a snack for the boys.

Healey had sent texts to her father and sister, concerned about the boy's behaviour. 

Her dad wanted to call police, but Healey said she was afraid she would get in trouble with a boss who had visited earlier in the shift and expressed concern over her using her phone.

Finally, around 10 p.m., Healey was upstairs getting things ready for the boys to go to bed. When her supervisor and the boys didn't arrive upstairs, she got nervous.

Then, one of the boys appeared with a bat and the other with her supervisor's keys.

That's when she knew something was wrong, and she ran downstairs, pulling a local fire alarm on the way.

"The boys ran down the stairs and that's where they beat me," said Healey.

"They hit me multiple times in the head with a bat. My skull is cracked in multiple places around my eye bone here. It's fractured — that's why my eye is really swollen."

The two suspects allegedly took off with Healey's pickup truck after the assault. It has since been found.

Supervisor sought help, father says

Her father said Healey's supervisor was attacked first and ran to get help.

The suspects then allegedly got access to a baseball bat that was locked in a storage area, filled socks with pool balls and turned on his daughter, he said.

Healey said she woke up on the floor and barricaded herself in the office. She can't remember if she called police.

"The cops came, and I was so happy to see them," she said. "I just don't ever want to be alone like that again. I would've never thought these kids would've ever done anything like that."

Healey was rushed to hospital, where she discovered her supervisor had been attacked too. That woman has since been released.

"I just hope that never happens to anyone again. I never want to go through that again," she said. "Someone asked me if I hated them. I don't hate them … I just don't know why. I want to know why they did it."

Male youth services program set to close

The centre's board of directors released a statement on Tuesday evening saying they are governed by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, which requires safety planning and emergency procedures. 

Those plans and procedures will be reviewed as a result of the incident, the board said. 

A male youth services portion of the program was set to close on June 24, and the two youth involved were the last participants in it, according to the board.

"It deeply sa‎ddens us to close the facility on such a tragic note after so many have been assisted by the program," the statement said.

Healey has shared photos of her injuries because she wants people to see how violent the attack was and ensure other front-line workers are protected. 

• Student addictions worker beaten with bat and pool balls, father says

Healey still can't see out of one eye, has lost feeling in parts of her body and has broken teeth.

Attack was 'very unfortunate,' college says

Healey was at the centre as part of a work practicum through a child and youth worker program at Red River College.

A spokesperson for the Winnipeg school said the attack was "very unfortunate," and the school is reviewing the incident.

"As we're learning more about the incident that occurred yesterday, we've now started our own internal investigation — what happened and what the next steps are going to be," said communications officer Conor Lloyd.

Allen Bleich is with CUPE Local 4792, a union which represents behavioural health workers in Manitoba.

"I think ultimately we need to find out what happened and how this can be prevented so that this never happens again, no matter what workplace it is in," said Bleich. "I spoke to the employer. They're meeting the employees. They're offering counselling, so they're doing some of the right things."

Workplace Health and Safety is now investigating the incident.

According to provincial officials, all residential child care facilities are licensed by the province, and they're required to maintain policies and procedures on dealing with security, managing behaviour and maintaining emergency/safety procedures.

"There's been minor incidents but nothing like this before, as far as I'm aware," said Bleich. "People are very concerned about what happened, absolutely."

Behavioural Health Foundation's full statement

The Selkirk Behavioural Health Foundation's board of directors released this statement Tuesday evening about the events:

"We are all shocked and saddened as a result of this senseless and tragic event.  The thoughts and prayers of the Behavioural Health Foundation (BHF) are with the two workers who were severely beaten and their families at this difficult time. We are ‎hopeful for a speedy recovery and the best possible outcome for both members of our community.

There remain many unanswered questions regarding the event on Sunday evening. BHF is working with all the appropriate investigatory bodies, including the RCMP, to ensure these questions can be answered.

All programs at BHF are accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF). BHF has always sought to meet or exceed CARF's requirements. These requirements include safety planning and emergency incident procedures. Those procedures were in place at the time of the incident and, as part of our incident review, will be carefully scrutinized by the senior management team.

For now, BHF would like to focus on the healing of the two victims, and of all the members of our community, both staff and residents. The Male Youth Services program was set to close on June 24 and the youth involved were the last participants. It deeply sa‎ddens us to close the facility on such a tragic note after so many have been assisted  by the program."