Workplace violence demands prevention plans, health workers say
Photo/Courtesy/Harrington HealthCare
Harrington Hospital in Southbridge
Registered nurse Susan Landers was choked unconscious in April by a patient, sustaining a concussion when she hit the floor afterwards.
Aaron Aikins, a nurse at Worcester Recovery Center and Hospital, was out of work for more than eight months because of the injuries he sustained when a patient head-butted him.
Deb Falk was working a shift in the emergency department at St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford when an intoxicated patient hit her so hard in the arm that it split her bicep.
Those nurses and other Massachusetts Nurses Association members shared their stories with lawmakers Thursday to urge passage of a bill that would require hospitals to develop workplace violence prevention plans.
Rep. Denise Garlick, who sponsored the legislation with Rep. Kimberly Ferguson and Sen. Joan Lovely, said versions of the bill have been filed since 1990.
"It is not part of a health care worker's job to be punched, to be stabbed, or to be shot," she said. "It is an employer's job to have a safe workplace and it is the Legislature's job to make that happen."
The bill would also require hospitals to regularly report incidents of assault to the local district attorney and the Department of Public Health, and allow health care workers up to seven days paid leave to address matters related to a workplace assault.
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