News spotlight: Proposed law will shield Massachusetts nurses from workplace violence
Nurse Leader Weekly, December 1, 2008
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The Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) is launching a campaign to encourage legislative action to safeguard the state's nurses and other healthcare professionals from workplace violence.
If passed, the proposed legislation would criminalize assaults made against healthcare workers. The legislation would also order hospitals in the state to develop plans to identify and mitigate sources that contribute to violence in the healthcare setting.
The MNA surveyed workplace violence in a 2004 questionnaire. Fifty percent of healthcare workers cited being punched at least once during the previous two years and 25% reported being pinched, scratched, and spit on.
David Schildmeier, spokesperson for the association, notes an urgency to enact the law, especially with a 2009 state law that will prevent the diversion of ambulances to other facilities when EDs are overcrowded. He expects the longer wait times will create more opportunities for patient stress.
Sources: The Boston Globe and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
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