wokplace violence

healthrn · Mar 17, 2005

Do any of my fellow office/clinic nurses have a workplace violence policy that you could share with me? I am on our college clinic OSHA committee and it has fallen into my hands to establish a policy. Surprisingly, our campus doesn't have one in place that I can find. Thanks in advance.

Here is our healthcare policy - hospital, multsite clinic depts - hope this helps

Subject:

Workplace Violence

Department:Human ResourcesPage 1 of 3Policy No:

Effective Date:February 27, 2004Approved:

VICE PRESIDENT OF EMPLOYEE SERVICES & ORGANIZATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Reviewed Date:3/1/97 5/1/98 8/15/01 1/1/02 11/03 2/04

DEVELOPED DATE:5/1/96

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POLICY STATEMENT:

It is the intent of Agnesian HealthCare to provide a safe workplace for all employees. We do not tolerate any type of workplace violence committed by or against employees, physicians or volunteers. Employees and non-employees are prohibited from making threats or engaging in violent activities.

DEFINITIONS:

Workplace violence is any intentional conduct which is sufficiently severe, offensive or intimidating to cause an individual to reasonably fear for his/her personal safety or the safety of his/her family, friends and/or property such that employment conditions are altered or a hostile, abusive or intimidating work environment is created for one or more employees.

This list of behaviors, while not all inclusive, provides examples of conduct that are prohibited:

*Verbal abuse;

*Causing physical injury to another person;

*Making threatening remarks;

*Surveillance/stalking;

*Aggressive or hostile behavior that creates a reasonable fear of injury to another person or subjects another individual to emotional distress;

*Intentionally damaging of employer property or property of another employee;

*Possession of a weapon while on company property or while on company business;

*Committing acts motivated by, or related to, sexual harassment or domestic violence.

PROCEDURE:

Risk Reduction Measures

Hiring: The Human Resources Department endeavors to take reasonable measures to conduct background investigations and employment references to review candidate backgrounds and reduce the risk of hiring individuals with a history of violent behavior.

Safety: HealthCare Safety & Security conducts periodic inspections of the premises to evaluate and determine any vulnerability to workplace violence or hazards. Any necessary corrective action will be taken to reduce all risks.

Individual Situations: While we do not expect employees to be skilled at identifying potentially dangerous persons, employees are expected to exercise good judgment and to inform their department director or designee or the Human Resources Department if any employee exhibits behavior which could be a sign of a potentially dangerous situation. Such behavior includes, but is not limited to:

*Discussing weapons or bringing them to the workplace;

*Displaying overt signs of extreme stress, resentment, hostility, or anger;

*Making threatening remarks;

*Sudden or significant deterioration of performance;

*Displaying irrational or inappropriate behavior.

Potentially dangerous situations involving patients or visitors should be reported to the Security Officer on duty for intervention.

Dangerous/Armed Situations

Employees who confront or encounter an armed or dangerous person should not attempt to challenge or disarm the individual. Employees should remain calm, make constant eye contact and talk to the individual. If a department director or Security Officer can be safely notified of the need for assistance without endangering the safety of the employee or others, such notice should be given. Otherwise, cooperate and follow the instructions given.

Reporting Procedures

Any potentially dangerous situations must be reported immediately to your department director or the Human Resources Department. Reports can be made anonymously and all reported incidents will be investigated. Reports or incidents warranting confidentiality will be handled appropriately and information will be disclosed to others only on a need-to-know basis. All parties involved in a situation will be counseled and the results of the investigations will be discussed with them. Agnesian HealthCare will actively intervene at any indication of a possibly hostile or violent situation.

Other resources available to employees include the HealthCare Domestic Violence Program at #########, and/or the Employee Assistance Program at #########. All such information will be kept confidential without prejudice to the employee.

Emergency Response and Reporting

XXX Main Campus: Acts of violence on premises, which require immediate intervention, should be reported by dialing 1-2-3-4 and announcing to the Communication Specialist "CODE GREEN' and the location of the incident. The Code Green Team will respond to the location of the incident -- see Safety and Security policy #13 in the Safety Manual.

XXX Main Campus: Acts of violence on premises, which require immediate intervention, should be reported by dialing 2-2-2-2 ("0" 8:30 pm - 6:30 am) and announcing to the Switchboard Operator "CODE VIOLET" and the location of the incident. The switchboard staff should immediately dial 9-1-1 to notify the Police Department of the incident/location and then page "CODE VIOLET" with the location over the intercom.

Off-Site Locations: Acts of violence that occur off-site and require immediate intervention should be reported by dialing 9-1-1 and announcing to the police dispatcher the location and a brief description of the incident.

All security emergencies will be reported through the Occurrence/Incident Reporting System. It will be the responsibility of the witnessing employee to notify his/her department director. It will be the responsibility of the Department Director or his/her designee overseeing the environment of care in which the incident takes place to ensure that an Occurrence/Incident Report is completed.

Enforcement

Any person who engages in a violent action on HealthCare property may be removed from the premises as quickly as safety permits and should, at the discretion of HealthCare, remain off the premises of HealthCare pending the outcome of an investigation into the incident. The employee engaging in the violent action will be unpaid.

Any employee who violates this policy will be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment.

Non-employees engaged in violent acts on Agnesian HealthCare premises will be reported to the proper authorities for prosecution.

HealthCare will conduct a comprehensive post-incident evaluation, including psychological as well as medical treatment, for employees who have been subjected to and/or witness to abusive behavior and/or a violent act on the system's premises.

HealthCare reserves the right to inspect any person or person's personal property on HealthCare premises for weapons, including, but not limited to, lockers, containers, desks, briefcases, personal bags and vehicles.