WellSpan Health implements multipronged workplace violence prevention plan

Nursing leaders should address workplace violence with a multifaceted, comprehensive plan, says WellSpan Health Senior Vice President and CNE Patty Donley, DNP, RN. To make nurses feel safer, leaders at the York, Pa.-based health system installed panic buttons to immediately alert security to a threat, and they provided extensive in-person training on de-escalation techniques for employees at greatest risk for experiencing workplace violence. As a result, leaders saw a 62% reduction in the workplace safety metric used to track injuries and illnesses serious enough to affect an employee’s ability to do his or her normal job. WellSpan Health leaders also formed a multidisciplinary, behavioral emergency response team to back up nurses who need support deescalating individuals exhibiting signs of potential violence. (HealthLeaders Media article, 7/13/26)