On June 28, 2018 at 2:40PM eastern time, shots rang out at the offices of the Capital Gazette, a local newspaper covering Annapolis, Maryland. The shooting resulted in the deaths of five people and injuries to two others.
Locations once considered safe havens such as schools, places of worship and healthcare institutions are no longer immune to acts of violence and, in worst case scenarios, active shooter incidents. In a webinar, Connie Packard, Executive Director of Support Services, Deputy Chief Public Safety for Boston Medical Center discussed ways that the external and internal environment can be used to mitigate risk, tools that are available to help, and standards and guidelines aimed at preventing violence.
In March, the European Commission demanded that tech firms remove terrorist posts within one hour of their appearance. Similar calls have come from corporations and commentators, alike. These forms of pressure are important but focused only on the problem of social media serving as a tool for spreading violent ideas and propaganda. Disturbingly, social media use itself may be predisposing individuals to commit terrorism, shootings and other forms of violence by impacting user behavior and well-being.
Effective April 1, 2018, California became the first state to require all acute-care hospitals and skilled-nursing facilities to develop and implement comprehensive workplace violence prevention plans.
There were 28 mass attacks (during which three or more persons were harmed) carried out in public places within the U.S. in 2017. The attacks resulted in losses of 147 lives, with nearly 700 others injured.
“Violence stemming from patients and patient visitors present considerable risk and concern to the healthcare industry. Healthcare Facilities (HCFs) should establish specific violence prevention and aggression management policies, processes and practices to deter, identify and manage violent events.”
A new sentinel event alert from the Joint Commission said healthcare workers and organizations need to do better on reporting and preventing workplace violence.
The Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention Act would direct OSHA to create a standard that would require healthcare facilities to develop and implement facility- and unit-specific workplace violence prevention plans.
