Colorado lawmakers recently introduced House Bill 24-1066 in response to increased violence against healthcare workers. The bill would require hospitals, freestanding emergency rooms, and assisted facilities to increase efforts to protect healthcare workers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare and social workers are five times more likely to be assaulted on the job than other professionals. A 2022 National Nurses United survey revealed that 48 percent of respondents reported violence had risen at their facility.
Bill sponsor Colorado State Rep. Eliza Hamrick told KDVR Fox 31 the bill would “give voice to their [healthcare workers] concerns and will also allow them to be part of the process of their facility to create violence prevention plans.” HB 24-1066 would require hospitals, freestanding emergency rooms, and assisted facilities to increase efforts to protect healthcare workers by creating workplace violence prevention committees to record and review violent incidents and develop prevention plans. Hamrick said a comparable bill in California cut violence against healthcare workers in the workplace by 41 percent.
‘Everyone’s Stressed’
Colleen Casper, executive director of the Colorado Nurses Association, told 9News in Denver, “Everyone’s nerves are frayed. Everyone’s stressed. The demand, the lack of staff, nobody has reserves to draw on when things get tense… we have to be competent to be able to deescalate, use trauma-informed skills, really help each other to a place of assistance instead of fighting, violence.”
In addition to recording violent incidents and developing prevention plans, those committees would have to adopt, implement, enforce, and update the plan, provide training, submit biannual incident reports to the Department of Public Health and offer post-incident services to any affected staff.
Part of the problem continues to be nurse staffing shortages, which also lead to higher morbidity and mortality rates.
MPX+
Founded in 1983, MedPro Healthcare Staffing is a Joint Commission-certified provider of temporary and contract healthcare staffing services to facilities across the United States. Travelers can access MedPro’s premium jobs through the MedPro Experience+ (MPX+) app. MPX+ puts the power in travelers’ hands. Users have 24/7 real-time access to jobs, applications, credentials, assignment details, and more. They’ll get custom job alerts, one-click apply and can access their timesheets and view details such as base pay, overtime, and meals per diem.
Download MPX+ at Google Store: https://lnkd.in/esAmN5MM or iPhone App Store: https://lnkd.in/eUuEJmXt