Nurses, Advocates to Testify in Favor of Legislation To Prevent Workplace Violence Against Health Care Workers at Oct. 4th State House Hearing

Acts of violence against health care workers occur at a rate five times to twelve times higher than the estimated rates for workers overall; and a Massachusetts caregiver is assaulted every 38 minutes

BOSTON, Oct. 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lawmakers will hold a hearing at the State House on Wednesday, Oct. 4 on legislation that would require hospitals to design and implement policies and procedures to prevent what has been characterized as an epidemic of violence against frontline nurses and other direct care staff in Massachusetts healthcare facilities.

The bill, sponsored by State Senator Joan B. Lovely (Beverly/Danvers) and supported by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, would require health care employers to perform annual risk assessments and identify factors which may put employees at risk. It requires hospitals to look at factors like time of day, public access, staffing levels and other factors that affect safety. Hospitals would then need to develop a program, including a written violence prevention plan based on these assessments and put measures in place to minimize risks. The bill also requires the creation of an in-house crisis response team to support victims of workplace violence.

"Violence in healthcare has been an epidemic for many years, resulting in nurses and other direct care staff being assaulted on the job more than any other worker," said MNA President and ICU nurse Katie Murphy. "Without legislative action, hospitals and other health care facilities are under no obligation to put the measures in place that will help to mitigate workplace violence- that is why we are asking the legislature to take action to protect those on the frontlines from these unwarranted and traumatizing attacks."

Legislative Hearing Details

What: Legislative hearing for An Act Requiring Health Care Employers to Develop and Implement Programs to Prevent Workplace Violence (S.1539/H.2330) would require health care employers to perform an annual safety risk assessment and, based on those findings, develop, and implement programs to minimize the danger of workplace violence to employees and patients. Click here for the legislative webpage for the bill and link to view the hearing.

Where: Virtually and in Room A-1, State House, Boston MA.

When: Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023 at 11 a.m.

Who: MNA President Katie Murphy, nurses who have been assaulted on the job; State lawmakers who co-sponsored the bill. Among those testifying will be a nurse from Holy Family Hospital in Methuen who left her position after being strangled by a patient on a behavioral health unit, sustaining a concussion after passing out and falling to the floor unconscious.

The Problem: Assaults on Health Care Workers are Frequent and Violent

• Acts of violence against health care workers occur at a rate five times to twelve times higher than the estimated rates for workers overall, according to a recent GAO report.
• Every 38 minutes in a Massachusetts healthcare facility, someone is either physically assaulted, endures verbal abuse, or is threatened, according to the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association.
• Healthcare workers experience the most non-fatal workplace violence as compared to other professions, accounting for nearly 70% of all non-fatal workplace assaults, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• More than 80% of emergency department nurses have been the victim of workplace violence, according to the Emergency Nurses Association.
• During the pandemic, WBUR reported that two to three Massachusetts General Hospital nurses are assaulted every day.

A growing number of nurses fear violence in their workplace and view it as a serious problem, according to the 2023 "State of Nursing in Massachusetts." The threat is even more dire among nurses in direct care at hospitals.

• 24% of nurses said they do not feel safe in their workplace, an increase from 9% of nurses in 2019 and 17% in 2020.
• 63% of nurses said workplace violence and abuse is a serious problem, up from 42% in 2021.
• 76% of nurses in direct care at a teaching hospital said workplace violence and abuse is a serious problem.
• 79% of nurses in direct care at a community hospital said workplace violence and abuse is a serious problem.

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Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 25,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association