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OSHA urges hospital to take steps against violence

Healthcare Security Weekly, September 3, 2007

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sent a letter to Brockton (MA) Hospital in July recommending the facility take steps to address workplace violence.

An OSHA inspector visited the hospital in March after the Massachusetts Nurses Association filed a complaint on behalf of the facility's nurses earlier in the year, reported The Boston Globe. Assaults have led the nurses' union to call Brockton Hospital the poster child for workplace violence prevention, the newspaper reported.

OSHA said employees have suffered physical assaults from patients including punching, kicking, biting, scratching, and pulling hair. Injuries have included bruises, cuts, contusions, strains, and sprains.

OSHA did not cite the hospital because there is not a specific standard relating to workplace violence, the agency wrote in the letter. OSHA recommended steps including the creation of a workplace violence safety committee, a work-site analysis, and more training and education for staff. You can find a copy of the OSHA letter on the nurses' union Web site at www.massnurses.org/news.

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