Winnipeg man calls for improved patient safety after mother, 94, attacked in hospital – CBC

Man, 49, charged with assault in connection with Jan. 9 incident

Feb 13, 2026

A Winnipeg man whose mother, 94, was assaulted by another patient at St. Boniface Hospital says hospitals need to re-evaluate how patients are paired in shared rooms.

Maria Capizzi was moved from her personal care home and admitted to the hospital on Jan. 9 when her health began to decline.

According to her son, Tony Capizzi, she was initially placed in a room with another woman. The following day, however, he received a call from a nurse saying otherwise.

“’I’m sorry to tell you this … I’ve never seen anything like this, but your mother was assaulted. The patient next to her’ — it was a man, I found out it was a man, Capizzi recalled — ‘tried to suffocate her with a towel.’”

Hospital staff intervened and stopped the attack, Capizzi said.

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/hospital-assault-patient-9.7087535