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Nurses group puts the spotlight on assaults

Hospital Safety Connection, August 22, 2007

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The Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) has gone on the offensive against workplace violence, using an OSHA inspection of a hospital to point to the dangers healthcare workers face.

The MNA posted a report detailing OSHA's visit to Brockton (MA) Hospital in March. In a July 13 letter from OSHA to the hospital--which the MNA posted online--the agency urges the facility to take further steps to prevent assaults on staff members.

"The majority of the cases involved patient care givers who were assaulted while assisting and/or caring for patients in the emergency department and psychiatric unit," OSHA wrote.

Brockton Hospital has adopted some of OSHA's recommendations and will also monitor violence in the facility, a hospital spokesperson told The Boston Globe this week.

There is no OSHA standard for workplace violence, though the agency can cite hospitals for problems under the general duty clause, which requires workplaces to be free of hazards to employees.

Members of HCPro's Hospital Safety Center can download a special report on workplace violence by clicking here.

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