Hospitals take steps to mitigate violence

A rapid-response team trained to de-escalate and safely contain an altercation responds to violence at Inova Health System, based in Falls Church, Va. Other steps health care organizations can take to mitigate workplace violence include implementing reporting systems for record-keeping, safety and well-being program evaluation, and setting the expectation that violence in the facility is neither expected nor accepted. Recent data from Press Ganey, based in South Bend, Ind., found two nurses were assaulted every hour during the second quarter of 2022. Assaults were defined as any encounter involving forcible, unwanted physical or sexual contact, regardless of who carries out the assault and whether there is intent to harm. The highest number of assaults occurred in psychiatric units, emergency departments and pediatric burn, rehabilitation and surgery units. “What’s especially concerning about these numbers is that they are likely even higher, as assaults generally go underreported by health care professionals ─ and nurses in particular,” said Press Ganey CNO and AONL member Jeff Doucette, DNP, RN. (HealthLeaders Media article, 9/12/22)