The 78-year-old patient at an Aurora hospital who allegedly was stabbed by her roommate's visitor was expected to recover, but her attack raises the complicated issue of balancing security and the mission of helping people heal in free-flowing institutions open 24 hours a day.

"First and foremost, our thoughts, prayers and concerns go out to the patient and her family," Provena Mercy Medical Center spokeswoman Heather Gates said Wednesday. The victim, a North Aurora woman attacked with a butter knife about 6:20 p.m. Tuesday was in fair condition, Gates said.

Police took an Aurora man in custody immediately after the attack, Lt. Pete Inda said. Late Wednesday, Darrell Franklin, 39, was charged with aggravated battery to a senior citizen and aggravated battery, police said. He is scheduled to appear for a bond hearing Thursday morning.

The suspect is the son of the victim's roommate, Inda said, and was among a group of people visiting the victim's roommate when he became distraught, left the room, returned with the knife and attacked the patient in the other bed, Inda said.

Kiowa King, a grandson of the victim, said Wednesday he wanted to know how many people were in the room and how many that hospital rules allowed. His grandmother suffered wounds to her arm and face, King said.

"I'm upset that it happened, period," he added. "But I still would like to know exactly what happened so I would be able to look at whether it was security or something else."

Gates said she was unsure of the number of visitors in the room at the time of the attack. When police arrived at the women's hospital room, security and members of the suspect's family were subduing him, authorities said.

"Due to the extremely unusual and very random nature of this incident," Gates …More