Columbus Regional Health is at 2400 17th St., Columbus.
Columbus Regional Health employees are reporting more instances of violence directed at them by patients and visitors than in previous years in what officials say reflects national trends and efforts by the hospital to encourage staff to report incidents.
At the same time, officials said the level of violence in some of these incidents appears to be increasing, including some cases that have resulted in staff being “significantly injured.”
During the first seven months of the year, local hospital staff reported experiencing 100 incidents of violence while on the job, according to figures provided by CRH. By comparison, CRH staff reported 86 cases of violence during the same period last year and 84 cases during all of 2021.
CRH officials, who characterized the incidents as “isolated events” and emphasized that the hospital is “a very safe place,” said the increasing number of reports is alarming but cautioned that it is difficult to determine if the upward trend is the result of violence becoming more prevalent at the hospital or simply due to increased reporting from staff.
Figures from previous years likely did not capture the true extent of workplace violence at CRH, officials said, citing a “culture of silence” among some health care workers who accept experiencing violence as just part of their job.
“We’ve seen these numbers going up dramatically for several years now, but what is more alarming at this point is we’re also seeing the level of violence increase,” said CRH Police Chief Tony Pope, who also is vice president, secretary and a board member of the International Association for Healthcare, Safety and Security. “So, it’s not just the numbers that we’re seeing. It’s that the level of violence has started to become more violent.”
“In the past, we saw a lot of threatening behavior, maybe somebody throwing a food tray at someone or in their direction, squeezing somebody’s hand, but we’re seeing events now where staff members are getting punched, they’re getting kicked, they’re getting spat on,” he said.
Pope said he suspects the increase in the level of violence in some of these incidents is related to heightened frustration and anxiety that built up during the pandemic, as well as the mental health and substance abuse challenges that the community has been facing.
While certain patients or visitors who engage in violent behaviors at the hospital might be experiencing cognitive challenges, impairment or adverse reactions to medication that cause them to not be able to control themselves, officials said that a number of incidents have escalated to the point of criminal behavior.
So far this year, CRH has forwarded 15 cases of workforce violence against staff to local prosecutors for possible criminal charges.
“I think some of this has to do with the prolonged pandemic,” Pope said. “…And I think you have got a lot more people that are experiencing mental health issues. I think that this also correlates with substance abuse issues.”
National trend
The increase in reports of workplace violence at CRH reflects national trends in the healthcare industry as workers grapple with a growing threat of violence and abuse while on the job.
Data shows American healthcare workers now suffer more nonfatal injuries from workplace violence than workers in any other profession, including law enforcement, The Associated Press reported.
Healthcare workers accounted for 73% of all nonfatal workplace violence injuries in 2018, the most recent year for which figures are available, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration has characterized workplace violence as “a recognized hazard in the healthcare industry,” and several medical groups have sounded the alarm in recent years, particularly as incidents intensified during the pandemic.
Earlier this year, the American Hospital Association highlighted several instances of violence against hospital workers, including a case where a patient grabbed a nurse in Georgia and kicked her in the ribs and an incident in South Dakota where a patient threw a nurse against a wall and bit her.
A recent study published in the journal Workplace Health and Safety found that 44% of hospital nurses reported experiencing physical violence and 68% reported experiencing verbal abuse during a three- to four-month period in 2020.
“From a national view, we’ve been seeing this increase in violence in health care for quite some time,” Pope said. “…This is something that we’ve seen escalating for quite some time – over a decade now – and it has been escalating at an alarming rate. I will say that we have noticed that even since the onset of the pandemic, we’ve seen it even increase at an even more alarming rate.”
Training and reporting
CRH has taken a number of steps to protect workers and encourage them to report incidents of violence, officials said.
Some of those efforts have included forming an in-house police force, launching a new reporting system in recent years, as well as educating and training staff on how to recognize when situations are escalating and safely de-escalate them or physically restrain individuals if things turn violent.
All employees who work in areas or departments of the hospital that are at a higher risk for violence are required to undergo the training, including CRH’s police officers and staff who work in the hospital’s mental health and emergency departments, officials said.
The hospital recently started giving staff in some areas of the hospital personal duress buttons that they can wear on their clothing that, when pressed, will immediately dispatch hospital police officers to their location.
CRH officials said they believe their efforts are a large part of why staff are reporting more cases of violence to them.
“One staff member or visitor or anyone being assaulted is too many, so that’s the primary concern,” Pope said. “But this is a place of healing. People come here to get better. They come here to be treated, and in order for us to give them the best care and treatment, our staff and the caregivers, they need to feel safe. …That’s why we put so much effort and emphasis into addressing workplace violence.”
