More assaults occur in the health care and social services industries than in any other. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported in 1998 went on to say:

“Of greater concern is the likely under-reporting of violence and a persistent perception within the health care industry that assaults are part of the job. Under-reporting may reflect a lack of institutional reporting policies, employee beliefs that reporting will not benefit them, or employee fears that employers may deem assaults the result of employee negligence or poor job performance.

The University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center’s 2001 “Report to the Nation” on workplace violence observed: “Of particular concern is the high rate of violent incidents targeting health care workers. On some psychiatric units, for example, assault rates on staff are greater than 100 cases per 100 workers per year.” And a study conducted by the Emergency Medical System of Virginia reported that “violence associated with patient care is the primary source of non-fatal injury in all health care organizations today.
  
 
”The Virginia report also noted that “hospital based medical workers currently have the highest rate of non-fatal assaults over all other sectors of employment.”

Nurses experience the most assaults, but physicians, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, physicians’ assistants, nurses’ aides, therapists, technicians, home healthcare workers, social/welfare workers, and emergency medical care personnel are all at risk of violence by patients or a patient’s friends or relatives. Psychiatric units are particularly dangerous, as are emergency rooms, crisis and acute care units, and admissions departments.

The high rate of assaults on health workers has numerous causes. In urban emergency rooms, as one study noted, “increasing numbers of unscreened violent and potentially violent persons are brought by the police.”*		  

 


“PREPARING” for the crisis event that is not likely is not the reason that we prepare. The reason we prepare for crisis events is of the negative IMPACT and consequences of not being prepared if it were to occur.

"It's not the will to win that matters - everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters." - Paul “Bear” Bryant

Recognizing that all healthcare facilities have some level of risk and overcoming the “BIG D” is the first step to preparing to prevent or mitigate a crisis event involving the threat of violence or violent crime.
Mission of Healthcare Intruder Response
Consulting & Training

If the “Core Mission” of a given healthcare organization is defined as “Deep commitment to the care and improvement of human life” then the mission of effective and comprehensive Healthcare Intruder Response training is “Prevention/Mitigation of a violent or potentially violent incident within the healthcare environment”

Objectives & Topics Covered
The objectives & topics covered are to provide healthcare leadership, management, security and front line personnel with information and strategies on recognizing and responding to the dynamic challenges and issues violent incidents within the healthcare workplace. Additionally the overall goal is to provide the course participant with guiding principles and strategies to recognize behavioral pre-cursors to threatening & potentially violent incidents. Additional goals that will be covered will principles and strategies to prevent, de-escalate & mitigate incidents of violence.
  • Recognize the frequency of violence in the healthcare industry in comparison to private industry
  • Identify & recognize risk factors that are inherent to the healthcare industry
  • Understand history & demographics violent incidents within the healthcare environment
  • Recognize on duty law enforcement capabilities in responding to these types of incidents
  • Understanding the importance of awareness, education & training for front line personnel.
  • Understand & identify prevention strategies to workplace violence
  • Understand and implement principles of a “lockdown” in the workplace
  • Identify strategies for “personal awareness & safety” for employees arriving and departing the workplace.
  • Understand and implementing verbal conflict conflict management & de-escalation strategies

For more information about the training and consulting related to “Healthcare Intruder Response & Workplace Violence” please feel free to call us at 888-569-5444 or email at training@strategosintl.com. References and testimonials can be supplied upon request as well.