From “Lawmakers Seek OSHA Standard on Workplace Violence Prevention in Health Care”
Safety and Health Magazine (03/14/18) By ASIS.
Thirteen House Democrats have introduced the Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act, legislation intended to curb workplace violence in healthcare facilities. The proposed bill would direct OSHA to create a standard that would require healthcare facilities to develop and implement facility- and unit-specific workplace violence prevention plans. The legislation follows regulation enacted in 2014 in California, which went into effect in 2017, directing Cal/OSHA to develop a workplace violence prevention standard. The California law implements an April 1 deadline for all covered healthcare employers in California to develop and issue plans to prevent workplace violence and ensure the safety of patients and workers. The federal bill, introduced by Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), is similar in that it mandates that workplaces create and implement comprehensive violence prevention plans with input from doctors, nurses, and custodial workers. “The Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act puts a comprehensive plan in place and is a national solution to this widespread problem modeled after the success seen in California,” Khanna says. National Nurses United (NNU), the nation’s largest union of registered nurses, applauded the bill. The proposed federal standard calls on hospitals to assess and correct for environmental risk factors, patient specific risk factors, staffing, and security system sufficiency, according to NNU co-president Deborah Burger.
Gregory M. Schmidt, CPP, PSP, CHPA 