Sheds Light On Weapons Use Among Hospital Security Personnel – continued from page 15 weapons use among hospital security personnel to assess how these weapons were used during violent events. Source:
http://wwwsecurityinfowatch.com/ Read more
Attacks on Health-Care Workers, Nurses, Doctors Spark Alarm
Healthcare workers including nurses, doctors, emergency medical technicians and personnel get punched, bit and slammed into walls while doing their jobs, and a legislative panel is considering whether to increase penalties in order to protect them similar to those for assaulting a police officer.
The attacks come from patients, their family and even gangs seeking revenge, according to testimony various witnesses gave to a House-Senate committee making a study of violence against healthcare workers.
Surveys show that four of every five EMTs have been injured, although few report patients who attack them because they aren‘t trained to do so. Many attacks come from mental patients resisting treatment or restraints, who experts say may be too psychotic to be slowed by increased penalties. Others come from people lashing out over frustrations with the medical system, and they‘re likely to respond to warning signs noting the penalties or the arming hospital security guards with Tasers, experts said.
Source:
http://chronicle.augusta.com/ Read more
Attacks on Hospital Nurses Trigger State Laws to Protect Them
Health care workers nationwide are nearly four times as likely to be injured on the job as the general working population, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest data. Particularly at risk are people working in emergency rooms, psychiatric units, long-term care facilities and nursing homes, expert say. California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill into law in September that requires hospitals to implement plans to protect workers from aggressive and violent behavior. Illinois and New Jersey are among states with similar laws. More than 25 states, including California and New York, already have tougher criminal penalties for people who assault health care workers.
Ric Henry, president of health care risk management consulting firm Pendulum L.L.C. in Albuquerque, New Mexico, said he doesn't discount the importance of legislation when it comes to promoting health care worker safety, but ―the primary driver for change in the workplace is training.‖ Health care workers should be trained to deal with behavior-related incidents, cognitive impairment issues such as dementia, and learn how to defuse heated situations when they do arise, Mr. Henry said.
Source:
www.businessinsurance.com/ Read more
Minnesota Legislator Seeks Stiffer Penalties for Attacks on Nurses
Faced with a growing number of assaults against nurses and other medical providers by out-of-control patients, a proposal at the Legislature seeks to stiffen the penalties for such attacks by increasing prison sentences and fines to equal those who attack police officers.
State law provides for a three-year prison sentence and $6,000 fine against those who harm law enforcement officials. But those convicted of assaulting nurses, doctors, firefighters and emergency medical technicians get two-year sentences and $4,000 fines.
According to a recent Star Tribune analysis, nurses are being attacked in record numbers. This year, nurses have filed 46 workers‘ compensation claims for attacks and intentional injuries suffered while on duty in hospitals, the analysis
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