Support Memo to House Health Committee, Support HB 1880, Health Care Worker Name Badge

October 29, 2019

TO:   House Health Committee

FROM:   The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania

SUBJECT:   Support for House Bill 1880 (Health Care Worker Name Badge)

The Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP) and its membership support House Bill 1880 (Gillespie, R-York) and ask you to vote yes on the bill.

Unfortunately, whether it’s triggered by stress, pain, anger, fear, or the influence of drugs or alcohol, violence against health care workers is on the rise.

The data is compelling and unsettling, given that health care workers take care of people at their most vulnerable time, and work to keep them safe.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) analyzed workplace violence injury surveillance data from 2012 to 2015.The institute identified a 72 percent increase in the rate of workplace violence injuries among the 105 Occupational Health Safety Network (OHSN)-participating hospitals.

House Bill 1880 allows a health care facility to omit the last name from an employee’s photo identification badge. This simple, yet meaningful legislation aims to protect staff identities and help prevent awkward, uncomfortable, or threatening interactions over social media or even, in some cases, in person.

A simple online search of hospital employees’ names can yield a mountain of personal information, such as home addresses and family members’ names. That information can easily help an ill-intentioned person stalk, threaten, or assault health care workers.

House Bill 1880 is a tool that will enhance Pennsylvania’s hospitals existing protocols to improve safety for their employees. Assault is never okay. Stalking and harassment are never okay.

HAP supports legislation aimed in decreasing workplace violence in health care settings. Please vote “yes” on House Bill 1880.

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Topics: State Advocacy, Workforce

Revision Date: 10/29/2019

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