The Joint Commission’s New Sentinel Alert on Workplace Violence

Healthcare workers in hospitals, long term care facilities and other healthcare settings face significant risk of workplace violence. Violence in healthcare is due to a confluence of factors that present unique challenges.

Mental health issues, substance abuse, a history of violence and unmet patient expectations are just some of the factors that may contribute to violence in the healthcare setting.

In an effort to continue its goal of assisting facilities in promoting a culture of safety, The Joint Commission has published a Sentinel Event Alert, “Physical and verbal violence against healthcare workers.”  This document also contains links to other resources including OSHA, CDC and Crisis Prevention Institute.

MLMIC encourages all our insured facilities and providers to examine the safety of their organizations and practices and utilize available resources to assist in developing, evaluating or expanding plans for addressing the potential of workplace violence.