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Committee takes testimony on bill to require warning signs against assaulting health workers
Summary
Representative Phelps presented House Bill 12 13 to require printed signage in health-care facilities warning that assaulting health-care professionals is a criminal offense. Hospitals and health-care associations testified in support but urged wording and scope changes; committee members raised EMTALA and scope concerns.
The House Committee on Health and Mental Health heard House Bill 12 13, sponsored by Representative Phelps, which would require health-care facilities to post a printed sign stating that assaulting a health-care professional while the worker is performing official duties is a serious crime.
Representative Phelps said the bill is a "common sense first step" to protect health-care workers and cited published surveys and academic research to describe the frequency of workplace violence in emergency departments. He described the sign text as: "Warning, assaulting a healthcare professional who is engaged in the performance of his or her official duties, including striking a healthcare professional with any body fluid is a serious crime that may be…
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