Workplace Violence Roundtable Addresses Challenges, Aims for Possible Solutions, Collaborations

December 03, 2024

Violence against health care professionals is a growing challenge in hospitals throughout the commonwealth. Today, HAP organized a roundtable event hosted by Allegheny Health Network Grove City hospital to bring together area hospitals, policymakers, law enforcement, and emergency management leaders to discuss the challenges they face, pending legislation, and ideas for possible collaboration.

Here are five things to know:

• Background:  Modeled off similar events in Philadelphia and Bucks County, the event focused on sharing best practices and promoting local collaboration to protect health care professionals and support safety personnel. Participating in today’s discussion were representatives from hospitals in the region, Pennsylvania State Police, State Senate Health and Human Services Committee Chair Michele Brooks’ office, and Mercer County District Attorney Peter Acker.
• Key Issues:  The discussion focused on issues such as the psychological toll of violence on health care workers; factors that may increase the risk of violence; verbal abuse, physical injury, and property damage; challenges with reporting and prosecuting incidents; and available resources.
• Relevant Legislation:  The Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act, addresses the traumatizing violence that health care workers face each day. This bipartisan measure is modeled after the federal protections for airline workers and establishes federal penalties for knowingly assaulting or intimidating hospital employees. It also authorizes grant funding for initiatives to improve hospital employee safety.
• Future Plans:  HAP plans to facilitate similar workshops throughout the commonwealth in 2025.
• Quotable:  “We believe that many of the potential strategies to address health care workplace violence lie within our ability to share best practices and collaborate across the broader community,” Chris Chamberlain, MS, RN, CHEP, HAP’s vice president, emergency management said. “Hospitals are prioritizing investments and initiatives to keep their teams safe, and today’s discussion is designed to further establish and strengthen partnerships to prevent and respond to violence targeting health care workers.”

Learn more about the SAVE act online. For more about today’s event, contact Christopher Chamberlain, MS, RN, CHEP, HAP’s vice president, emergency management.