The unrelated stabbings of two nurses at separate UCLA hospitals Sunday morning left one nurse in critical condition and shook the feeling of comfort and safety in the medical centers.
The injuries inflicted upon these on-duty nurses serve as a chilling reminder of a couple of stark realities: First, hospitals are some of the most dangerous workplaces in the nation; second, and just as important, California must do more to protect the men and women who work day in and day out to provide care to their communities.
Senate Bill 1299, introduced by state Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima) in February, offers an important first step in ensuring hospitals are better prepared to identify and respond to violent incidents. The bill emphasizes improved staff training, access to resources for violence-related stress or trauma and the improvement of emergency response and reporting procedures.
Currently, the California Health and Safety Code requires hospitals to conduct an annual security and safety assessment, develop a security plan from that assessment, track incidents of aggressive or violent behavior and provide emergency department employees with security education and training.
But a 2007 report commissioned by the National Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health identified numerous shortcomings of the Health and Safety Code, citing issues of inadequate reporting systems for violent crimes, unsatisfactory security training and ineffective communication between patient care and security staff.
Of particular concern, the report found that many hospitals did not train physicians, volunteers and contract employees in security protocol. Furthermore, nearly half of the surveyed hospitals’ security programs examined were not adapted to meet the specific needs of the facility.
Hospitals are in a singularly vulnerable place in terms of workplace safety. They continually process patients in various mental states, some of whom may pose a threat to patient care workers or other staff. Hospitals are also the sites of great stress, a product of tragic situations, frequently overworked staff and concerned patients and visitors.
“The (security) challenge in health care is that the goal of the hospital is to provide an open, welcoming environment for people who are sick and need care and those that come in with them. They have to balance that mission with the need for security,” Steve Kaufer, president of Inter/Action Associates, a security consulting firm, told the Daily Bruin Tuesday.
To balance this combination of stress and the uncontrollable nature of violent incidents, the focus of SB 1299 falls on prevention and training, providing more detailed guidelines for hospitals to plan their emergency response and follow-ups, including internal reviews and record-keeping.
Padilla’s bill will be heard Thursday morning by the Senate Labor and Industrial Relations Committee, of which Padilla is a member. State Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), who currently represents the 26th Senate district, which encompasses parts of Westwood and borders UCLA’s campus, also sits on the committee. Mitchell previously held a seat in the California State Assembly representing the 54th Assembly district, which includes UCLA.
Thursday’s hearing is the first time legislators will review the bill. We hope Mitchell, as well as other members of the committee, will join Padilla in supporting the much-needed preparation for hospitals to improve institutionalized responses to workplace violence.