Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine recently signed a new bill into law, requiring hospitals to enhance protections against workplace violence. The law mandates hospitals to create comprehensive workplace violence prevention plans, including staff training, reporting systems for workplace incidents, and policies prohibiting retaliation against staff who report violent incidents. Plans must be developed with input from clinical staff. The law further provides civil immunity for healthcare workers who act in self-defense or defense of others during violent incidents under certain circumstances.
Providers on edge: Across all of healthcare, providers are on edge, enhancing their safety measures to help thwart violence against patients, clinicians, and staff. Violent attacks seem to be increasing in frequency and severity. In recent weeks, a gunman entered a UPMC hospital in Pittsburgh and took employees hostage, causing the death of a police officer and injuries to clinicians, police, and a staff member. UPMC increased its police presence after the incident. Meanwhile, another health system, WellSpan Health, based in York, Pennsylvania, starting this week, now has new security measures in effect, according to the local York Daily Record. Over the past 2 years, WellSpan has spent more than $20 million on safety and security, including metal detectors in emergency departments. Read more about the increasing incidence of violence from the JUCM news archive: Healthcare Workers Endure Violence Routinely—Even After the Pandemic