Rep. Dean Roundtable Tackles Healthcare Workplace Violence

Pottstown, PA (WorkersCompensation.com) – U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., met with healthcare workers and advocates to discuss to rise in violence and abuse against healthcare workers Friday.  

During a roundtable with staff and leaders at Pottstown Hospital – Tower Health in Pottstown, Pa, Dean discussed the rise in workplace violence for healthcare workers in Pennsylvania and across the country. A recent survey of Pennsylvania hospitals by the Hospitals and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP), 77 percent of hospitals who responded to the survey said they’d seen a significant rise in violence against emergency room staff. And according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2020 hospital workers were six times more likely than workers in other professions to suffer a workplace injury due to violence.   

In June, Dean joined Rep. Larry Bucshon, M.D., D-Ind., to introduce H.R. 7961, the “Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act,” which would make assaulting or intimidating hospital employees a federal crime. The legislation, modeled after similar protections in place for aircraft and airport workers. The legislation was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.   

“Health care workers serve our communities every day with selflessness, yet misinformation and shameful ignorance has increased violence and intimidation in hospitals. So, today I joined Pottstown Hospital - Tower Health to learn more about their experiences on the ground,” Dean said. “I introduced the SAVE Act in June with my colleague, Congressman Buschon, to make violence and intimidation of health care workers a federal crime—and to provide protection that our health care workers deserve.”  

Dean’s meeting comes on the heels of two attacks on healthcare workers.   

On July 29, a nurse at Duke Raleigh Health in Raleigh, N.C., was assaulted by a patient.   

Raleigh police said the attackers, Stanley Louross Scarboro, 41, was receiving care at the hospital when he punched a female nurse, knocking her unconscious. A hospital security officer was also injured during the attack, police said. The nurse suffered a broken nose and broken eye socket, while the security officer sustained a broken finger.   

Dr. Craig Albanese, the Executive Vice President and COO of Duke University Health System told CBS17, the violent attack was unacceptable.   

“This is unacceptable, and it is disturbing to us. To me. To the Healthcare community at Duke and the community at large,” Albanese said. “I have a hard time disassociating it from what’s going on at large in our country. We hear about events in the airline industry, businesses, schools and restaurants. There’s not anything different or unique in hospitals. I think it’s linked to the growing incivility and aggressive behavior in our country.”  

Scarboro was arrested and charged with two charges of assault inflicting serious injury on emergency personnel and one count of communication threats.  

Officials in Florida also reported an attack on a healthcare worker. Police said that a nurse was working in the ER of the University of Florida – The Villages Hospital was working in the emergency room on July 28, when she saw a man walking around completely naked. Sumter County Sheriff’s Office identified the man as 31-year-old James Stephen Bickhart of Lady Lake, Fla.   

The victim and another nurse escorted Bickhart into an exam room, police said. Once they reached the exam room, Bickhart lunged at one of the nurses and wrapped her arms around her in an attempt to drag her to the floor. The other nurse grabbed Bickhart, and pulled him off of the victim.   

When police arrived, they interviewed Bickhart who only mumbled “incoherent responses to questions.” He was arrested and charged with felony battery.   

Dean’s legislation establishes federal, criminal penalties for anyone who knowingly assaults or intimidates hospital employees, including enhanced penalties for use of a dangerous weapon that results in injury, as well as acts committed during a public emergency. The legislation includes exceptions for individuals who may be mentally incapacitated due to illness or substance use.  

The legislation also authorizes $25 million in grant funding over the next 10 years to reduce violence and intimidation in hospitals.   

In 2020, Pennsylvania hospitals lobbied the state legislature to make it a felony to assault a healthcare worker and to protect workers’ identities by allowing last names to be left off of ID badges. Dean’s legislation would be the next step, leaders with HAP said.   

“There’s no one-solution fix for violence and abuse against health care workers,” said Chris Chamberlain, MS, RN, CHEP, HAP's vice president, emergency management. “We need to work to prevent these incidents from happening and respond to them when they do. This bill addresses both of these things. Most importantly, it affirms that violence and abuse towards health professionals is never OK.”  

The legislation is endorsed by HAP and the American Hospital Association.   

Hospital leaders said the legislation would help to create a safe workspace for healthcare workers.   

“We really want to create an environment for our staff that is safe and free from abuse and workplace violence,” said Ann Blankenhorn, DNP, MBA, RN, NEA-BC, vice president, nursing clinical practice and education and Center for Patient Safety, Tower Health. “The SAVE Act elevates this issue to show our staff—and all health care professionals—that this is so important.”