Senate advances bill requiring hospitals to adopt workplace-violence plans and training

The Vermont Senate on Friday advanced H 2 59, an act relating to preventing workplace violence in hospitals, directing hospitals and other health facilities to establish safety teams, perform risk assessments, adopt staff training and incident-reporting procedures and collect data on violent incidents.

The bill’s reporter, the senator from Washington, told the chamber, “This bill addresses once again an issue we have addressed several times in this, which is the prevalence of violence in our health care facilities,” and described repeated incidents in emergency departments and other patient areas that prompted the bill.

Supporters said the measure requires each facility to form a safety team that includes an employee who works directly with patients, a representative from the designated mental health agency, and a relevant law-enforcement representative. The bill directs teams to perform risk…