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10 Security Dealer & Integrator / www.SecurityInfoWatch.com June 2017 BY JOEL GRIFFIN, EDITOR SECURITYINFOWATCH.COM Read more of this analysis: www.securityinfowatch.com/12335174 SECURITY WATCH Acts of violence against nurses and doctors in recent years have spurred the introduction of new legisla- tion in states across the country designed to stiffen penalties against those who assault healthcare work- ers. But while lawmakers have begun to take notice of the problem, data from the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS) Foundation's 2017 Healthcare Crime Survey shows that incidents of work- place violence continue to plague hos- pitals at an alarming rate. The study, which analyzed the responses of security profession- als at 222 U.S. hospitals, found that "Workplace Violence Type 2" assaults – acts of violence committed against hospital staff by patients and visitors – accounted for 89 percent of all assaults at hospitals from 2012 to 2016. Drilling down further, the study found that hos- pitals suffered 1.4 Type 2 assaults and 0.7 Type 2 aggravated assaults for every 100 employees on staff just in 2016. Despite the increased emphasis in many states on cracking down on violence against healthcare workers, there does not appear to be a correla- tion with a rise in criminal charges for workplace violence incidents; in fact, the survey found that only 15 percent of Workplace Violence Type 2 incidents in hospitals resulted in a charge in 2016. "The workplace violence trend per- sists each year and clearly shows that patients and visitors assault health- care employees at a much higher rate than other people assaulting employ- ees," says Karim Vellani, CPP, CSC, the study's lead author and president of Threat Analysis Group LLC. The issue has not gone unnoticed by regulators, who have either enacted new rules designed to better protect workers in healthcare settings or are in the process of developing such guide- lines. For example, in Oct. 2016, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health approved a rule that requires hospitals, as well as other healthcare providers, to perform secu- rity assessments that also incorporate feedback from workers and subse- quently develops a plan to help miti- gate the identified risks. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) also pub- lished a request for information in sup- port of a new standard on workplace violence in the healthcare and social assistance settings in late 2016. Vellani says that the development of a workplace violence prevention standard by OSHA will likely take sev- eral years and that healthcare providers need to be more proactive in protect- ing their workforce. "Like the real estate mantra of loca- tion, location, location, healthcare security's mantra should be protect employees, protect employees, pro- tect employees," he says. "The single biggest takeaway from the 2017 report, much like prior healthcare crime sur- veys, is that Workplace Violence Type 2 needs to be addressed at every hospi- tal," he adds. "Hospitals should not wait for states and OSHA to develop laws or standards. A holistic, multi-disci- plinary approach should be developed to protect employees from assaults by patients and visitors." Beyond incidents of workplace vio- lence, the study found a slight increase in each of the other crime categories analyzed. Between 2015 and 2016, the violent crime rate, which includes murder, rape robbery and aggravated assault, rose from 0.9 to 1 incident per every 100 beds. Assaults increased from 8.1 to 9.3; vandalism rose from 2.1 to 3; burglary ticked up from 0.4 to 0.6; and motor vehicle theft also increased slightly from 0.3 to 0.4. Incidents of theft and disorderly conduct saw the biggest increases, rising from 5.7 to 8 and 21.4 to 34.1, respectively. ■ Workplace Violence Still a Major Issue for Hospitals IAHSS survey reveals that increased legislative emphasis does not correlate with a fall in the number of incidents An IAHSS survey says that "Workplace Violence Type 2" assaults – which are acts of violence committed against hospital staff by patients and visitors – accounted for 89 percent of all assaults at hospitals from 2012 to 2016.