May 11, 2022

As the Russian ambassador and a U.S general lunge into a physical altercation with one another in a secure area of the Pentagon, the president scolds them both with the admonition: “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here.  This is the War Room!”  The iconic line from Stanley Kubrick’s dark comedy, Dr. Strangelove, does not fail to deliver its intended effect, i.e., to soak the movie-goer in dripping irony.

How ironic it is to receive continual reports over the last several months of a state of emergency being declared in America’s emergency rooms (ERs)!  According to Todd Haines, a member of the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA), in testimony last week on Capitol Hill, nurses are being bitten, punched, knocked unconscious and strangled with stethoscopes, “all while just trying to provide basic care to patients.”  We at MiraMed Global Services have, ourselves, received direct reports from nurses of similar incidents—not just in the ER, but in multiple departments and floors of the hospital.  One nurse recently recounted how a patient had choked her, then knocked her to the ground before others could come to her aid. 

What’s Going On?

That was the question raised in Marvin Gaye’s 1971 classic anti-violence anthem of the same name.  What’s going on, indeed.  Why in the world would there be physical assaults against ER and other hospital workers?  It would seem to be counter-intuitive that those providing physical care would be the targets of physical attack.  Yet, according to ENA President Jennifer Schmitz, “It’s become part of the job.”

The upswing in violence against healthcare workers first became widely publicized during the darkest days of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Burned-out workers, along with the shrinking volume of available caregivers, coincided with rising tempers among increasingly frustrated patients.  According to some observers, the pandemic amplified violence against healthcare workers that had always been present to one degree or another.  This trend was especially pronounced in emergency departments, where patients experienced longer wait times, perhaps adding fuel to an already combustible situation.

However, with the easing of COVID cases in recent months, there does not seem to be a concomitant reduction of tensions among the patient population.  In a survey of 2,500 nurses from National Nurses United—the country’s largest nursing union—conducted last month, 48 percent of hospital nurses reported an increase in workplace violence, up from 31 percent in September 2021.  Indeed, healthcare workers are five times more likely to get injured at work than other workers, and they face the highest rates of workplace violence, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Search for a Solution

As a result of these shocking statistics, healthcare industry representatives are urging members of Congress to create new legislation that would help curb workplace violence against nurses and other frontline staff.  Toward this end, Senator Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., is asking her colleagues to fast-track the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act.  She introduced the bill in the U.S. Senate after it passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last month with bipartisan support.

There are currently no federal requirements that healthcare employers must follow to protect employees from workplace violence, though some individual states mandate employers maintain violence prevention programs, and others provide statutory penalties for those engaging in assault against a healthcare worker.  The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act would require healthcare employers to develop and implement workplace violence prevention plans based on guidelines from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.  The employers would also be required to give employees annual training, keep detailed records of incidents and submit annual summaries to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The American Hospital Association (AHA) has a mixed stance regarding this issue.  On the one hand, they have announced their opposition to the above-referenced legislation, arguing hospitals already have specifically tailored policies to address violence.  On the other hand, they have asked the U.S. Department of Justice to take a tougher stance on violence against healthcare workers by supporting legislation that would make violence against healthcare workers a federal crime.

Meanwhile the ENA is asking Congress to pass legislation that would limit workplace violence and increase penalties for those who assault healthcare workers.  The call for such legislation is also being echoed by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).  Aisha Terry, vice president of the ACEP, said “We are asking for some type of security, guidelines, standards.”

We at MiraMed Global Services support frontline health workers in their quest to work in an increasingly safe and secure environment.  If you wish to reach us, please go to the following link: info@miramedgs.com.