LOS ANGELES, Calif. /California Newswire/ – The stabbing of two nurses in two Los Angeles area hospitals within hours Monday morning is a shocking reminder that working in a hospital setting comes with very real risk. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers in healthcare and social assistance settings are five times more likely to be the victim of a non-fatal assault or violent act than the average worker in all other occupations combined.
A 2007 report commissioned by the National Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health came to the same conclusion and found that among California hospitals, hospital security is often uncoordinated and insufficient. Employee training programs rarely included review of violence trends within their specific hospital and few hospitals have effective systems to communicate about the presence of violent patients. Security programs and training were often less complete in psychiatric units than in emergency departments. Sixteen states have enacted laws aimed at addressing workplace violence against healthcare workers.
Olive View-UCLA Medical Center where one of the attacks took place is located in Senator Alex Padilla’s district. “My thoughts and prayers go out to the two nurses who were attacked, their families and their coworkers,” Senator Padilla said. “Anyone who has worked in a hospital setting recognizes that you never know who is going to walk through the door, and in what state of mind. We must do a better job of protecting healthcare workers from violence, and make California’s hospitals as safe as possible,” said Senator Alex Padilla.
Two months ago, Senator Padilla introduced a bill in the Senate to address violence against workers at hospitals and health facilities. Senate Bill 1299 would require hospitals to establish workplace violence prevention plans that evaluate staffing levels to determine if insufficient staffing contributes to a risk of violence, sufficiency of the security systems including the availability of security personnel, security risks associated with specific units, areas of the facility with uncontrolled access, late-night and early morning shifts, and employee security in areas surrounding the facility such as employee parking areas. The bill is schedule for its first hearing in the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee on Thursday.
“Every hospital in California should establish violence prevention plans and put in place enhanced protections for their healthcare workers,” Padilla added.
Senator Alex Padilla, 41, graduated from MIT with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He currently serves on the Board of MIT and is President of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. He is Chair of the Senate Energy, Utilities and Communications Committee and represents the more than 1,100,000 residents of the 20th State Senate District in Los Angeles.
