Program reduces attacks
H
e
on staff, supports victims
a
l
t
ByDEBORAH A.MILES giving-back.It’snotaclinical
TheCapitalDistrictPsychiatricCenter intervention.Whenweprovidea
(CDPC)inAlbanyhasadoptedan compassionateresponsetopeopleinthis
GOYETTEandOʼCONNOR
h
&
AssaultedStaffActionProgram(ASAP)to lineofwork,itmakesadifferencein
said.“Thereisasensethatpeopleare
provideemotionalsupporttoworkerswho termsofhowpeopledoaftertheassault.”
beingcaredfor,andthereisamore
havebeenassaultedonthejob. O’ConnorinvitedaMassachusetts-
compassionateresponsetoincidentsthat
S
Theprogramhasbeenoperatingfor basedpsychologistandoriginatorofthe
arehurtfultopeople.Theprogramhelps
a
almosttwoyears.Ithasmadea ASAPmodel,totraintheCDPC
todiminishthelikelihoodofanylong-
f
considerabledifferenceinreducingthe volunteers.Theylearnedtheimportance
termeffectssuchaspost-traumatic e
numberofassaultsandtherecoverytime ofprovidingfollow-upservicefor
stressdisorder.And,thenumberof
forvictims. assaultedemployees,aswellasthesteps
t
assaultshasgonedown.”
y
“Fouryearsago,theAssault totakefollowinganassault,suchas
Goyettesaidotheragencieswhere
PerformanceImprovementCommitteeat callingfamilyorfriendsandassisting
workplaceviolenceisaproblemshould
CDPChadidentifiedasignificantincrease withpaperwork.
lookattheASAPorsimilarpeer-based
inthenumberofassaultsonstaff,”said ThevolunteersatCDPCarePEFand
traumaresponseprograms.
JuanitaGoyette,aPEFDivision231 otherunionmembersandrangefrom
“Youdon’thavetobeasocialworker,
memberandnurseadministrator. doctorsandnursestomentalhygiene
psychologistorregisterednursetobea
“Notonlywasthereanincreaseinthe therapyaides.
volunteer,”Goyettesaid.“When
numberofassaults,buttheseveritywas “It’sbeenawonderfulprogramandit
employeestakethetraining,theylearn
becomingworse.PEF’shealthandsafety hashadsignificantsuccessatourfacility.
theydonothavetofunctionintheroleof
departmenthelpedbybringinginfocus Westillcontinuetohaveassaults,but
atherapist.
groupfacilitatorsfromtheUniversityof whatweseeintermsofdataisour
“Peopleneedtorealizethatjust
Michigan.CDPChiredDr.JackO’Connor employeeswhodogetassaultedreturnto
becauseweareintheprofessiondoesn’t
tocoordinateASAP. worksooner,”Goyettesaid.“Manyofthe
meanweareimmunetohavingemotional
“Togetasuccessfulprogramtogether, employeesfeeltheyaresupportedbytheir
responses,”Goyettesaid.“Wereallyneed
trainingandteambuildingare co-workers,peoplewhoaretrustedandat
tobecognizantthatpeoplewithwhomwe
important,”saidO’Connor,aPEFmember thesamelevelofrisk.”
workwillneedsupportwhenviolence
andpsychologist.“Inthetraining, “Sincetheprogramhasstarted,the
occurs.Facilitiesneedtoinvestthetime
volunteerslearntheprogramisabout climateatCDPChaschanged,”O’Connor
andenergyprovidingthattoemployees.”
PEF urges DOL to adopt regulations
ByDEBORAHA.MILES said.“Theproposedriskevaluation thisseriousproblem.Sincethe
Representativesfromvariousstate anddeterminationmethodsused law’spassage,OCFShasformeda
unionswereamongthosewhotestifiedin bytheagenciessuchasthestate management-unioncommittee
AlbanyatthestateDepartmentofLabor DepartmentofCorrectionalServices anddevelopedapolicystatement,
February3abouttheWorkplaceViolence andtheDivisionofParoledonot andsomework-practicechanges
PreventionLawandpendingregulations constrainanysecurityor havealreadybeenmade.Thereis
requiringpublicemployerstoadopt counterterrorismmeasures.” alsoanenhancedemphasison
workplaceviolencepreventionplans. D’Arminio’stestimonyreinforced training,”D’Arminiosaid.
PEFstatewideHealthandSafetyChair thenecessityforagenciestowork PEFDirectorofOccupational
KathyD’Arminiotoldanaudienceof20 withunions.
people,includingDaveRuppert,assistant “ThestateOfficeofChildrenand
directorofthedivisionofsafetyand FamilyServices(OCFS)isan DʼARMINIO
HealthandSafetyJonathanRosen
commentedonthehearing.
“PEFhasbeenaddressingthe
healthatDOL,thelaw’spassageinJune excellentexampleofanagencywhere issueofworkplaceviolencefor
2006motivatedmanystateagenciesto thelawandthependingregulationsmade morethanadecade,”Rosensaid.“We
meetwithunionrepresentativestobegin asignificantimpact,”D’Arminiosaid. needtogetthisfinalizedandgeteffective
developingworkplaceviolenceprevention “OCFS,anagencywhosemission programsinplaceinallstatefacilities.
programs. combinessecurityandrehabilitation,has “PEFcommendsDOLfordoingan
D’Arminiosaidnoneoftheagencies seriousworkplaceviolenceproblems.In excellentjobindraftingtheseimportant
haveraisedanyconcernsaboutsharing someoftheyouthdetentionfacilities,the regulationsdesignedtoprotectthewell-
informationwithunionsinthe staff’sannualrateofassault-related beingofpublicemployees.Compliance
developmentorimplementationofthese injuryexceeds30per100employees. withtheseregulationswillhavea
programs.Ataprevioushearing,New “Thishastakenaterribletollonstaff significantimpactonreducinginjury,lost
YorkCityrepresentativessaidinformation andontheagency’sabilitytodeliverits worktimeandthenegativeeffectsof
sharingmayjeopardizesecurityor services.PriortotheWorkplaceViolence workplaceviolence.Itisurgenttheybe
counterterrorismefforts. PreventionLaw,OCFSwasunwillingto adoptedandfinalizedassoonas
“Frankly,thatissuehasprovenin workwithPEFandtheCivilService possible.”
w
pr
w
a
w
ct
.p
ic
e
e
f.
t
o
o
rg
beastrawman,”D’Arminio EmployeesAssociation(CSEA)totackle
TheCommunicatorMarch2009—Page11
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32