A new bill, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, would require hospitals, nursing homes, rehab centers, mental health providers, and jails to develop a workplace safety plan to protect their workers from violence they experience at the hands of patients — a surprisingly common phenomenon. The bill would also require employers to record and investigate all complaints of violence, and prohibits retaliation against employees who call 911.
A patient at TriStar Summit Medical Center in Hermitage, Tenn., was charged with aggravated assault after police say he cut a security officer at the hospital.
In today’s world, global organizations face immense pressure to ensure their business is constantly evolving to meet the changing nature of the world. Business growth is driven by dynamic interactions – employees are increasingly mobile, on the road and working remotely to support their objectives.
The Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems has designed a detailed, 172-page toolkit in collaboration with nurses and doctors associations and organized labor.
Threat assessment, much like any other organizational function, needs to be actively managed and continuously improved. The HSEEP framework offers a strategy for both novice and seasoned teams to monitor progress through documented training.
Although not all events can be stopped, there are strategies to mitigate occurrences by identifying threats at organizations. Threat assessment should be used at the organizational level to identity behavior that could lead to violence.
The International Association of Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS) recently released new guidance on how to help healthcare officials address visitor and patient violence in hospitals. Patient violence – whether it is physical or verbal – not only threatens human life and the well-being of hospital staff but also threatens patient safety and creates an unhealthy work environment.