Representatives Seek OSHA Standard on Healthcare Workplace Violence
The Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act, introduced March 8 by U.S. Representative Ro Khanna (D-CA) and 12 other House Democrats, would direct OSHA to create a standard that would require healthcare facilities to develop and implement facility- and unit-specific workplace violence prevention plans. The bill can be read here.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, at least 58 hospital workers died as a result of workplace violence between 2011 and 2016. In 2016, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that healthcare workers at inpatient facilities are five to 12 times more likely to encounter nonfatal workplace violence than all other workers, according to Health and Safety Magazine.