from The Patriot Ledger After failing year after year, a bill that lengthens jail sentences for people who attack health-care workers has been signed into law. “This is such a great thing,” said Sheila Wilson, a registered nurse from Quincy who watched Gov. Deval Patrick sign the bill Friday. “People are finally taking health-care violence [...]

Press Release from Massachusetts Nurses Association Surrounded by registered nurses and legislators, Governor Deval Patrick today signed a law that will stiffen the penalties for those who assault nurses and other health care workers, one of a series of measures the state’s nurses are proposing to address the growing problem of workplace violence in health [...]

By Madonna Behen, Bloomberg Businessweek More and more violent crimes are occurring in America’s hospitals, clinics and other health care facilities, according to a new alert issued by the Joint Commission, an independent health care oversight group. Since 2004, there have been “significant increases in reports of assault, rape and homicide, with the greatest number [...]

By Richard Cairney, OH&S Magazine When most people think of workplace hazards, images of industrial equipment, strained muscles or mishaps with a staple gun typically spring to mind. But government agencies and businesses are also paying increased attention to a hazard that is too often overlooked: workplace violence. A 2007 report from Statistics Canada found [...]

from Massachusetts Nurses Association The management of Tufts Medical Center has been forced to pay a $5,000 fine, as well as to post a public notice this month for its registered nurses, detailing numerous lapses in its efforts to track injuries to nurses, including a significant number of needle stick injuries, which could have exposed [...]

from the Ontario Nurses’ Association The Ontario Nurses’ Association’s (ONA) 55,000 registered nurses and allied health professionals are today marking the 2010 Day of Mourning, honouring the thousands of workers who have lost their lives or been injured on the job. “It’s vital that we pause to remember the colleagues we have lost,” said ONA [...]

from 24-7 Press Release Stop Healthcare Violence was founded by three nursing professionals who have worked in both inpatient and outpatient hospital settings for many years. All three have been assaulted in the workplace. All three have witnessed co-workers suffer physical and verbal attacks. All three know it is time to stop the violence against [...]

By Sherry Casey, The Morning Call As an emergency room nurse for a local hospital for the past 10 years, I have been an eyewitness to the increasing misuse of the emergency department, causing overcrowded conditions, long wait times and patient frustration. These conditions are major factors contributing to the increasing occurrence of violence aimed [...]

By John Commins, Health Leaders Media Working in a hospital can be hazardous to your health. Bureau of Labor Statistics data for 2008—the latest figures available—show 2,890 work-related assaults at hospitals. That doesn’t tell the whole story, because the data reflect only assaults that are serious enough to inflict injury and force the victim to [...]