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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (May 3, 2019)
A3 THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, MAY 3, 2019 Legislators try to reduce assaults on medical staff An increasing problem at hospitals By KRISTIAN FODEN- VENCIL Oregon Public Broadcasting Kristian Foden-Vencil/Oregon Public Broadcasting Nurse Allison Seymour estimates she encounters violence or sexual harassment monthly, if not weekly. should also be allowed to put a sticker on the outside of a violent patient’s room, to warn staff. “We’re … behind on fl agging people with violent behaviors and making that part of the medical record that travels with a patient,” said Mealy. Hospital support Piling on requirements, with the possibility of add- ing staff and other expenses might be expected to draw opposition from hospital executives. But most hospi- tals and their trade groups are backing Senate Bill 823. Hospital leaders say they don’t want staff to be afraid to go to work or risk lawsuits from injured staff members. Legacy Health System’s chief nursing offi cer, Carol Bradley, says the amount of violence is only growing. “The violence and the challenges that our nursing staff, all health care work- ers are facing today, has escalated. And I think it’s a refl ection of some of the things going on in society and unfortunately it trans- lates into our emergency departments and in the care environment that our nurses are involved in on a daily basis,” Bradley said. She’s hopeful the new bill will start reducing vio- lence. But she also thinks improving safety isn’t just a question of adding staff and hiring more security. “It’s a combination of staff education, de-escala- WANTED tion techniques and really the environment we create.” She said Legacy is already putting stickers on the doors of violent patients, and noting bad behavior in their medical records. Katie Harris, an attorney with the Oregon Associa- tion of Hospitals and Health Care Systems, said hospitals have been working on this issue for a long time, includ- ing through the health care violence prevention bill she helped pass back in 2007. And she thinks there will be more bills in the future. “When it comes to work- place violence prevention, this is always an area where more can be done. This is not the kind of thing where you can set it and forget it, when it comes to a program. It really is something where you need to develop, imple- ment and sustain a program and continuously re-evalu- ate it,” said Harris. Meanwhile, Seymour is staying with her job, even through she feels like hos- pitals have generally down- played workplace violence. “It’s terrifying and it lasts with you,” Seymour said. “And it’s contributed to my burn out … I came into nurs- ing to help people, not to get assaulted by people.” HA unions. Kevin Mealy, with the Oregon Nurses Asso- ciation, said it’s unaccept- able that 1 in 4 nurses report being physically attacked every year. He thinks the violence is a result of the Byzantine nature of the health care industry and the stress of sickness. “You’re dealing with peo- ple who’re feeling stressed; they’re in a vulnerable state, who may have nowhere else to go, who may not like being in the hospital,” said Mealy. “And then you’re also dealing with their family and friends.” Lawmakers tackled vio- lence in Oregon health care facilities before, in 2007, when they mandated peri- odic security assessments at hospitals and clinics. Sen- ate Bill 823 re defi nes those assessments as happening at least once every two years. The bill also aims to protect staff who report workplace violence, as well as requir- ing hospitals to report to the state when, where and how assaults happen. “So you can start iden- tifying trends and fi gur- ing out where your particu- lar facility’s problems lie so we can address it,” Mealy explained. Mealy thinks lots of things can be done to reduce violence, for example, ensuring clear lines of sight in hospitals, so staff can eas- ily see what’s going on. He thinks medical staff Missy 8 1/2 year old Dachshund/Rhodesian Ridgeback Blend A little life at your feet -- loneliness no longer. Read about Missy on Petfinder.com Sponsored By C LATSOP C OUNTY A NIMAL S HELTER 1315 SE 19 th Street, Warrenton • 861 - PETS www.dogsncats.org 80 TH Contact: John Anderson • 360-269-2500 Daphne J. 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The possible witness S. Columbia Street say- ing they saw Todd have is believed to be in his a loud conversation and late 20s to early 30s, interaction with another approximately 6-feet tall, with a medium, person. The emergency call athletic build. As pre- led police to initially viously reported, Todd believe a physical alter- may have been on the beach or walking along cation had taken place . Todd was treated at the Promenade prior to the scene for his inju- the incident. Anyone with infor- ries and eventually taken to a Portland-area hos- mation is asked to pital, where he died on call Seaside p olice at 503 -738-6311. April 8. By BRENNA VISSER The Daily Astorian DA Registered nurse Allison Seymour remembers a ter- rifying incident from a few years ago when she was working nights at a hospital in Boise . As in many hospitals, patients’ beds were alarmed with pressure pads, alert- ing nurses to respond when patients get up. Seymour recalls being just behind another nurse when an alarm went off one night. “We get up and run. She is about 10 steps in front of me. I hear her enter the room and hear her scream. When I got into the room, I see a man. And that man has her pressed against the wall and is choking her,” she said. Seymour managed to separate the patient before other staff, security person- nel and police came to help. “The part that’s so dis- turbing about this case is that it was very premedi- tated,” said Seymour. “He scooted himself down to the very end of the bed so that he was able to set off that alarm but be in a position where he could attack — and that’s why this moment has really stuck with me.” Seymour said the patient had been through alcohol withdrawal and was angry that he wasn’t being released until the morning — a typi- cal hospital policy. Seymour said a lot of the violence isn’t sinister. Many patients are just in an altered mental state because they’re suffering from dementia or drug withdrawal. “So when we’re pro- viding care for these peo- ple they often bat us away, they often try to hit us, some people get violent and they try to punch us or bite us. That’s the majority of cases I encounter,” said Seymour. Seymour estimates she encounters violence at least monthly — maybe even weekly. That’s not unusual among health care workers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta- tistics fi nds nurses are more likely to be assaulted on the job than police offi cers. And the violence is increasing. Another bureau study found it’s gone up 12% in the last three years. Many states have attempted similar fi xes, without a whole lot of suc- cess. Thirty-eight states — though not Oregon — have made it a felony to assault a health care worker. But those states haven’t seen the legal difference between a misde- meanor and assault deterring patients prone to lashing out. Oregon lawmakers are looking to begin by track- ing assaults more methodi- cally. Senate Bill 823 would require hospitals to docu- ment when, where and how assaults occur — so new systems can be developed to prevent them. Nurse Seymour hopes it will deal with sexual assault and harassment. “I’ve experienced people saying little comments here or there. Calling you ‘sweet- heart,’ calling you ‘babe,’ saying: ‘Oh, where’s your sexy nurse outfi t?’ Things like that,” said Seymour. “Then occasionally I’ve been touched, or groped inappropriately.” Seymour said she de-es- calates by telling patients not to be inappropriate or to be more respectful. “If it gets to a point where I’ve said that, then about 50% of the people still continue. And that’s the problem, is that gap,” said Seymour. She considers herself lucky because the hospital where she works has inte- grated an alarm into staff identity tags. So she can hit her alarm and staff will immediately come to her aid. Autopsy shows Forest Grove man died from intoxication
