According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, 73% of workplace violence incidents occur in healthcare settings. Leah Blackwell, MSN, RN, chief nursing officer at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center in Houston, said the health system is focused on preventing these incidents.
“Despite our best efforts, we know we might never reach zero incidents, but we are committed to keeping that number as low as possible,” she wrote in a piece published by the Daily Nurse.
Memorial Hermann’s Workplace Violence Prevention Task Force has created year-over-year improvements to workplace safety, she wrote. Here are some of its efforts:
1. Mandatory de-escalation training for clinical staff; the training is available to all employees.
2. Using a behavioral emergency response team (BERT) to address violent incidents in a structured, multitiered response system. If a patient exhibits escalating aggression, it is documented in the patient’s chart and flagged in the EHR. Predictive scoring is done every shift to develop an individualized care plan focused on safety.
3. The hospital also implemented three levels of behavioral response: an early intervention huddle; a Code BERT, which gets a BERT clinician and security officer involved; and a Code Green, which prompts security to secure the area before a BERT team intervention.
4. The facility’s security has been upgraded to include weapons detection technology, security officers with body cameras, increased security personnel and improved visibility throughout the hospital.
5. High-risk units — the emergency center, intensive care, labor and delivery, and pediatrics — have received increased attention, and security officers conduct regular rounds.
Memorial Hermann is exploring adding other technology to its security protocols, including facial recognition and license plate readers to identify people with a history of violent behavior before they enter the facility.
