Weapons pose risk, demand preventive action
By G. Michael Barton, SPHRVice President of Human Resources
Regional Medical Center
Madisonville, KY
Sadly, violence is a fact of life in nearly all American workplaces, and health care facilities are no exception.
A 1994 report published by the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that homicide is the leading cause of work-related deaths for health care employees. Between 1980 and 1990, there were 106 homicides of health care employees. A 1994 Emergency Nurses Association survey found that 24% of 5,000 respondents had been exposed to assaults with weapons between one and five times per year.
Overall, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, 18,000 employees are assaulted and 20 are murdered each week in American workplaces, including health care facilities. Firearms account for 75% of all work-related homicides. To make matters worse, only seven states and the District of Columbia specifically prohibit the carrying of concealed weapons (Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Ohio, Wisconsin). The remaining 43 states allow individuals to carry concealed weapons on an unregulated, regulated, or limited basis. Homicide is now the second most frequent cause of work-related deaths.
Involve employees in prevention
Employee involvement is critical in keeping weapons out of your health care facility. This involvement begins by establishing a work environment that gives employees an opportunity to resolve conflict with each other, patients, family members, and patients’ friends. Employees who feel empowered are less likely to use force or incite violence in others. However, even the most caring environments can’t totally control the flow of weapons into the workplace. It is important that employees respond should a crisis occur.Employees should be educated in these areas:
1. Whom to notify should a weapon be displayed. This may include signaling co-workers to contact internal security or a member of the Crisis Response Team, if available. It also could involve contacting the police or other emergency resource.
2. What to do if someone threatens an employee or someone else in the workplace with a weapon. Again, depending on the severity of the situation, the employee should seek safety and contact internal security or the police immediately.
3. How to identify a weapon. This may sound simple, but handguns are not the only weapons that can be brought into the workplace. A weapon is any object or item (such as knives, sharp objects, or metal or wooden objects) that can be used to harm, harass, or intimidate any individual.
It also is a good idea to review hiring and employee transfer practices. Conduct a complete review of all job applicants, including criminal records, work history, references, and a "behavioral interview." For example, it is perfectly legal in a behavioral interview to ask the applicant: "How do you handle difficult situations?" Transfer practices should ensure that "problem employees" are not simply moved to another area without dealing with the problem.
The above certainly are not all-inclusive and should be part of the organization’s intent to prevent workplace violence. The organization also should identify any risk factors which have the potential for creating a crisis. (See story, at left.)
Take action where possible
After identifying risk factors, the organization must determine what approaches to implement. Some security measures can be cost-prohibitive for some health care facilities. For example, few hospitals can afford to install and staff a metal detecting station, although more hospitals may use this technology as it comes down in price. Here are some less expensive approaches:• Restrict access to the facility. This can include limiting the number of visitors, restricting visitor hours, and prohibiting access to areas where drugs or equipment are kept.
• Lock low-volume work areas, such as the laboratory, after hours.
• Install bulletproof barriers in high access areas, such as the emergency room.
• Increase security rounds or start a security department.
• Install more lighting in parking lots and other secluded areas.
• Install a security monitoring system. This can be expensive, depending on the scope of the system.
• Provide security escorts to parking lots or station a security guard in lots at shift changes.
All of the above are excellent approaches for reducing the potential for workplace violence, but the organization also must have a written policy that prohibits weapons in the workplace. This is the most important measure an organization can take to inform employees and visitors that weapons of any kind will not be tolerated.
A policy on weapons in the workplace should be simple yet definitive enough to provide guidance on what to do if weapons are brought into the workplace. Violators should understand the consequences of violating the policy. The organization, in turn, must apply the policy consistently. Don’t make exceptions just because there seems to be no violent intent.
For example, a hunter visiting a friend in the hospital should not be allowed to bring his filet knife into the facility simply because he forgot to remove it. An off-duty police officer who says she wears her gun at all times should not be allowed to bring it into the facility unless she is on official business. (On-duty officers, of course, can’t be asked to comply with the weapons policy.)
The bottom line is that inconsistent policy interpretation can cause public relations and employee relations problems. It also can can hinder consistent enforcement, which can cause problems. In the current litigious climate, organizations must be able to defend any actions that could be construed as restricting the rights of any individual. Requiring everyone to comply with the organization’s policy makes it easier to defend when challenged by employees, the public, or in the courts.
An organization needs to use the weapons policy to educate its staff and customers. When implementing a policy, employees should be given extensive training on how it will be administered. Employees must understand fully that the organization has zero tolerance for weapons in the workplace. An organization also must communicate this zero tolerance stance to visitors, customers, and vendors. It must inform the public through local media and other community resources that weapons will not be tolerated.
Organizations must protect their employees, customers, and visitors from violence. Workplace homicide and assault will continue to be out of control until employers everywhere take positive steps to curtail it. Preventing individuals from bringing weapons into the workplace is the first step in making this happen.
[Editor’s note: For more details, contact G. Michael Barton, Regional Medical Center, 400 West Lake Loop, Madisonville, KY 42431. Telephone: (502) 825-5243.]
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