[Page H5043]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VIOLENCE AGAINST HEALTHCARE WORKERS
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Connecticut (Mr. Courtney) for 5 minutes.
Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, on June 11 of this month, the House
Education and Labor Committee reported out legislation, H.R. 1309, the
Workplace Violence Prevention for Healthcare and Social Service Workers
Act. Mr. Speaker, this is a culmination and a milestone of a 7-year
process that began in 2013.
Like many Members of Congress, I have been hearing about stories of
rising violence in emergency rooms, ambulances, and treatment
facilities to nurses, doctors, and nurses aides that showed a
disturbing trend.
One such case was Helene Andrews, a registered nurse from Danbury,
Connecticut, who was assaulted multiple times during her career.
Shortly before she retired, while she was dispensing medication to a
patient, she was thrown to the floor and her pelvis was shattered.
In 2013, former Congressman George Miller of California and I
requested a report from the Government Accountability Office to dig
deeper to determine how pervasive this violence is and what strategies
are at our disposal to reverse this trend. The report, which was
completed in 2016, found that workers in healthcare facilities
experienced substantially higher rates of nonfatal injuries due to
violence in the workplace compared to workers overall.
Between 2006 and 2016, there was a 70 percent increase in violent
incidents that occurred in healthcare and social service workplaces
that resulted in employees being away from work. According to the
Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare and social service workers are
nearly five times more likely to suffer a serious injury from workplace
violence than workers in other settings.
Up to 30 percent of hospital workers report being assaulted at work.
For employees in psych hospitals, that number is drastically higher.
Nearly 50 percent of emergency room physicians have been physically
assaulted at work, and 80 percent report that this violence affects
patient care.
Despite these alarming statistics, we know that violence against this
workforce is, in fact, grossly underreported. Many medical
professionals are discouraged from reporting incidents, fear further
stigmatizing patients, or are just told: ``Move on. Shake it off. It is
part of the job.''
Mr. Speaker, during the course of work on this legislation, we
actually heard from the Cleveland Clinic in northeast Ohio, which is
one of the largest healthcare networks in America. The CEO of Cleveland
Clinic, Tom Mihaljevic, gave his 2019 state of the clinic address,
where he described that there is a national epidemic of violence
against healthcare workers, especially in emergency room departments.
Last year alone, nearly 30,000 weapons were confiscated from patients
and visitors in that healthcare network. At the time we did the markup,
one of the members of our committee actually expressed disbelief that,
in fact, that statistic was accurate.
Mr. Speaker, I include in the Record a letter I supplied to
Congresswoman Foxx at the end of last week citing Mr. Mihaljevic's
report, which was a YouTube that is easily found, as well as an article
from Modern Healthcare, which quoted this amazing and astonishing
statistic.
Congress of the United States,
2nd District, CT, June 21, 2019.
Rep. Virginia Foxx,
Ranking Member, Committee on Education
and Labor, Washington, DC.
Dear Ranking Member Foxx: During our June 11th mark up of
H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care
and Social Service Workers Act you questioned the veracity of
a statement I made regarding the high number of weapons
confiscated from patients and visitors at the Cleveland
Clinic in 2018. The number I cited, 30,000, is indeed
alarming. It is also accurate, and further evidence that
health care and social service workers require enforceable
protections to limit potential violence against them at their
place of work.
During the mark up, you asked publicly that I verify this
statistic, so I would like to share with you two resources
which confirm that 30,000 weapons were confiscated from the
Cleveland Clinic's Northeast Ohio facilities in 2018.
In Cleveland Clinic CEO Dr. Tom Mihaljevic's 2019 ``State
of The Clinic'' address from February 27, 2019, he states:
``there is a national epidemic of violence against health
care workers, especially in emergency departments . . . last
year alone, nearly 30,000 weapons were confiscated from
patients and visitors.'' You can view the address here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOr2UqlNzuY
Additionally, a March 11, 2019 Modern Healthcare article
entitled ``Healthcare workers face violence `epidemic' ''
cites Dr. Mihaljevic's address and reports that ``In 2018,
the clinic confiscated a staggering 30,000 weapons from
patients and visitors in its system in the Northeast Ohio
region.'' The article can be read here: <a href='https://tinyurl.com/
'>https://tinyurl.com/
</a> y5thhm4r
Given your understandable alarm upon hearing that the tens
of thousands of employees working at these facilities face
daily exposure to violence, I would welcome your support of
H.R. 1309. As you know, violence against this workforce is on
the rise. Both Democratic and Republican OSHA Secretaries
believe an enforceable standard is the best way to reverse
this trend, and this legislation will ensure that happens in
a timely manner.
Thank you,
Joe Courtney.
Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, it is obviously not limited just to the
State of Ohio. We know these incidents are preventable.
Since 1996, OSHA has published voluntary guidelines that recommend
commonsense preventative measures that employers can take to reduce the
risk and severity of violent incidents, and that is what our bill does.
It basically requires, through OSHA, that there be a violence
prevention plan in healthcare settings.
It is not one size fits all. It recognizes that some facilities are
different from others. But, in fact, there has to be a way to train
staff to understand patient risk, to understand ways to deescalate
violence, and a way to design workforces to reduce the incidence of
violence.
In addition, it requires that there be a reporting mechanism to OSHA
when these incidents occur. Today, in a hospital, if there is a slip
and fall, it must be reported; if there is a chemical leak, it must be
reported; but if a nurse is punched, kicked, or spit at, that is not
required to be reported, and that is what our bill will do.
The legislation was reported out with a favorable report. We have 187
cosponsors of the legislation. It is bipartisan, and it will be brought
up this summer for final action.
We have waited far too long to protect the caregivers, the people in
the caring professions which every American relies on and depends on to
be healed, consoled, and cared for. Yet it is clear from the GAO report
that they are being subjected to incidents of violence which, again,
are totally unacceptable and which hinder their ability to do their
mission. It is time to pass H.R. 1309.
Again, I applaud the support from the emergency room physicians, the
emergency room nurses, and the American Nurses Association, as well as
a host of other groups that are affiliated with our healthcare delivery
system.
Let's protect the caregivers. Let's pass H.R. 1309.
____________________