Healthcare workers are at a greater risk of workplace violence than any other profession -- according to new numbers from the Bureau of Labor Stratistics.
"I don't know why, but we are seeing more and more that people are taking out their frustrations against our health care workers, nurses, doctors, our public safety officers that work in the hospitals." The executive director of Safety and Security for BJC Healthcare, Michael Lauer, says the violence ranges from the physical striking of a nurse, to spitting on a caretaker, to verbal threats. "Part of it may be that there's a lot of angst. Nobody wants to be in a hospital, nobody wants to be confined to a hospital room. The other issue is that there's a lot of mental health issues with some patients that cause them to act out toward our healthcare professionals."
Lauer says all BJC hospitals now have a weapons detection system in place at the entrance to their emergency departments, and healthcare workers are being taught verbal skills to de-escalate potentially violent situations before they get out of hand.
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