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Healthcare Workplace Safety Act Passes Ohio Senate, Heads to Governor for Signature

December 19, 2024
Andrea White News

COLUMBUS – Legislation introduced by State Representatives Andrea White (R-Kettering) and Rachel Baker (D-Cincinnati) to better support hospital health care workers by providing a framework for addressing the increase in workplace violence through prevention strategies, workplace safety plans, training and reporting standards throughout Ohio, has passed the Ohio Senate and is headed to the Governor for signing.

“Our goal with this legislation is to better support our frontline health care workers who are so often serving our most wounded, traumatized and physically and mentally struggling citizens,” said White.  

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, workers in the health care and social service industries experience the highest rates of injuries caused by workplace violence and are five times as likely to get injured at work than the overall workforce. Incidence rates of workplace violence against health care workers have increased nationally almost every year for more than a decade. 

Some recent survey data underscore these trends:

·       A 2022 national survey of emergency physicians from the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) shows that violence in the emergency department (ED) has greatly increased – contributing to rising rates of health care worker burnout and harming patient care. An astounding 85% of emergency physicians believe the rate of violence experienced in EDs has increased over the past five years, with 45% indicating it has greatly increased. Additionally, two thirds of emergency physicians report being assaulted in the past year alone (66%) – with a third of these resulting in injury and more than a third disclosing they have been assaulted more than once.

·       The rise in threats as well as incidents of violence toward health care workers is not only causing injuries, distress and lost time from work, but also exacerbating burnout and leading them to leave positions of direct patient care at an alarming rate. Nearly a third of all nurses planned to leave their current job by the end of 2022- citing stress and burnout as the top reason for leaving according to a recent survey via the nurse hiring platform, Incredible Health.

 “Throughout our communities, so many of our businesses face an urgent workforce crisis,” said White. “As I’ve talked with constituents in the district and worked on crafting House Bill 452 with Rep. Baker and various stakeholders and interested parties, I have learned one of the biggest drivers of professionals leaving our healthcare fields is a steady increase in workplace violence., even as they are attempting to fulfill their calling to help and heal.”

HB 452 specifically does four things: 

·       First, it directs every hospital to establish an interdisciplinary team that includes direct care employees to develop a security plan for preventing workplace violence. 

·       Second, it requires that hospitals establish a workplace violence incident reporting system to track incidents and make improvements in preventing workplace violence. The reporting system must include guidelines for when and how to report incidents to the employer, security agencies, and law enforcement and must include a policy stating there can be no discrimination or retaliation against people who report incidents. 

·       Third, it establishes the ability of hospital security personnel to receive access to online security training currently available to Ohio peace officers.

·       Finally, it directs the Department of Higher Education to survey colleges and universities that provide education to students seeking to become health care providers, including medical students, nursing students, and allied health students, to evaluate the current education and training included in their curricula on the prevention of workplace violence. The results of this survey will be returned to the general assembly.

With its passage in the Senate and receiving concurrence in the House, HB 452 heads to the governor for his signature.