Page 39 - Security Today, April 2022

“The workplace violence prevention (WPV) team or committee should be a cross-functional and diverse group dedicated to a culture of safety.”
Security leaders are encouraged to go through industry-specif- ic training, education, and self-development. For security leaders serving as hospital security professionals, this means staying up- to-date on healthcare security publications, participating as an active member in the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS), ASIS International, attending for- mal healthcare security seminars or educational programs, par- ticipating in industry research, and so on.
The IAHSS Industry Guideline on Violence recommends that Healthcare Facilities (HCFs) implement a multi-disciplinary pro- cess to address workplace violence prevention and response. The process should support an effective safety and security program, whose five main components also apply to preventing workplace violence.
1. Management commitment to support efforts to minimize violence
2. Employee involvement and training to engage staff in violence
prevention and mitigation efforts
3. Risk assessment, identification, prevention and mitigation
4. Worksite analysis and development of response plans
5. Internal and external data gathering and management, record
keeping, evaluation and reporting
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION COMPENDIUM
Hospitals and critical access hospitals will find the compendium of resources offered in the JHC’s “Workplace Violence Preven- tion Compendium of Resources to Support Joint Commission Accredited Hospitals” invaluable. These resources were compiled from a wide variety of sources including national organizations, federal and state agencies, associations, academic institutions, and peer-reviewed publications.
Recommendations to reduce rising violence in hospitals and healthcare systems includes:
Establishing clear workplace violence policies. (Johns Hop- kins University, for example, has established clear policies as part of its “Safe at Hopkins” program, which covers everything from bullying to violence to disrespectful behavior).
Enforcing policies consistently. The WPV policies should have clear goals and objectives for preventing workplace violence, be suitable for the size and complexity of operations and be adapt- able to specific situations and specific facilities or units.
Offering training (particularly non-escalation/de-escalation training). Training should be mandatory and ongoing — not an easy-to-forget, one-time session.
Increasing security. In the 2018 ACEP/ENA survey, nearly half of respondents said that hospitals could do more to protect workers by adding security, video surveillance, metal detectors, and visitor screening, especially in the emergency department.
Studying your space. Improvements can include better light-
ing, clear evacuation plans, badge detectors, mirrors (so that no area is hidden), removing potential weapons (such as IV poles, which are now frequently built into beds), and reducing the num- ber of exits and entrances.
Protect against cyber stalking. Cyberstalking refers to the use of the Internet and other technologies to harass or stalk a health- care person online.
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT ON FRONTLINES
While any part of a hospital could become violent, the emergency department (ED) has the greatest potential for violence. The lack of healthcare resources available at night and on the weekends drive many people to the ED. The ED is the most challenging and stressful area in any hospital where dramatic life-and-death cases come in the front door.
Nurses, physicians and other medical professionals are on the ED’s front lines and are at an increased risk for workplace violence. The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) be- lieves that optimal patient care can be achieved only when pa- tients, healthcare workers and all other persons in the ED are protected against violent acts occurring within the department. As such, ACEP advocates for increased awareness of violence against healthcare workers in the ED and for increased safety
measures in all EDs.
The pandemic has taught us several lessons when it comes to
hospital safety and security. For example, it is critical for hospi- tals to develop mutual aid relationships, consider contracts for emergency security staffing during disasters, and establish ap- propriate/regulatory “Just-in-Time” training modules for various disaster scenarios. A WPV committee that keeps all of these risk factors at the forefront while updating the group on actions taken is crucial to combating violence.
While a hospital cannot determine the types of patients they treat in their ED, they can establish acceptable behaviors for pa- tients and the visitors who may accompany them by adopting a disruptive patient policy. With that policy in place, staff and physicians who are experiencing unacceptable behaviors know the exact steps to take as soon as these behaviors escalate.
The root of WPV problems in the healthcare sector is a com- bination of clinical, environmental and organizational risk fac- tors. Organizations need to address all three areas when address- ing the potential of WPV.
Clinical risk factors may include patients who are under the influence of an impairing substance, in pain or have mental/be- havioral health issue or who are custodial. Environment risk fac- tors may include lack of access control to a high-risk area, lack of safe areas for violent patients, or lack of duress alarms.
Organizational risk factors include inad- equate policies and procedures for reporting and managing WPV, inadequate staffing, lack of training and inadequate security.
Lisa Terry, CHPA, CPP is vice president of Vertical Markets-Healthcare, at Allied Universal.
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