NNews April 2024

58 April 2024 A ccording to 2019 statistics from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), “Healthcare and social assistance workers in private industry experienced workplace-violence-related injuries at an estimated incidence rate of 10.4 per 10,000 full-time workers – for a total of 14,550 nonfatal injuries,” (OSHA.gov). The rates are even higher in psychiatric, substance abuse and residential mental healthcare facilities. Despite these staggering statistics, OSHA does not have a specific standard on workplace violence prevention for employers. Currently, the General Duty Clause found in Section 5(a)(1) of the OSH ACT of 1970 is enforced in situations involving workplace violence. Most citations issued by OSHA’s compliance officers due to workplace violence typically involve the healthcare industry (OSHA.gov.). • Anti-retaliatory provisions • Approaches that avoid stigmatization of healthcare patients and social assistance clients While the exact rollout date of the new standard is unknown at this time, employers can proactively begin evaluating their organizations’ current prevention programs. The following measures can be implemented or reviewed for effectiveness: Written Procedures: Organizations should begin by developing policies on workplace violence containing zero tolerance. The policies can be stand-alone policies, part of organizations’ safety manuals or part of employee handbooks. Each policy should begin by expressing management’s commitment, as well as stressing the importance of employee participation. Other items to be included in the written policies include hazard identification, hazard prevention and control, training, and recordkeeping. By Lisa A. Bellis,MBA, CSM, ARM, CPG, AIS, CIC, CRIS, Senior Vice President, RiskManagement & Loss Control Services, Brown &Brown of Lehigh Valley OSHA Develops New Standard on Workplace Violence Prevention in Light of Greater Impact on the Health and Human Services Industry This has led OSHA to focus on the early development stages of a newworkplace violence prevention standard. In March 2023, OSHA called together a Small Business Advocacy Review (SBAR) panel. They received representation from organizations in industry sectors, including hospitals, residential behavioral health facilities, residential care facilities, home healthcare, emergency medical services, social assistance, correctional health settings, ambulatory mental healthcare, ambulatory care, substance abuse treatment centers, and freestanding emergency centers. OSHA identified potential topics in the draft standard to be considered by the panel, including: • A programmatic approach to workplace violence prevention • Workplace violence hazard assessments • Workplace violence control measures • Preventative training • Violent-incident investigations and recordkeeping