Executive Briefings

It is time to put workplace violence prevention into practice I heard Elvis singing “A Little Less Conversation” recently, and it got me thinking about our approach to workplace violence prevention and how it is seen through the eyes of frontline staff. Probably not what the songwriters had in mind. But after reading comments from hospital employees about violence, unanswered concerns, and changes they are still waiting to see, the connection was hard to miss. Employees have

Why policies, training, and emergency response are not enough to create a safer hospital. A hospital can have a workplace violence prevention policy, require annual training, maintain a reporting system, and employ security officers—and still have employees who hesitate to ask for help. Maybe the last report went nowhere. Maybe a supervisor told them the behavior was part of the job. Maybe assistance arrived too late. Or maybe everyone knows that certain patients, visitors, p

Why security risk appears in more places than the security budget Every security request competes with another legitimate healthcare need. An additional officer competes with clinical staffing. A new access-control system competes with medical equipment and facility improvements. Training requires time that departments already struggle to provide. Cameras, alarms, screening systems, and protective modifications all carry implementation and continuing costs. Healthcare executi

How healthcare leaders decide which services to sustain, expand, reduce, or suspend during a disruption The Healthcare Executive Brief What healthcare leaders need to know about security, safety, and organizational readiness A hospital can have an approved emergency operations plan, complete its required exercises, maintain an incident command structure, and still be unprepared to sustain patient care during a prolonged disruption. The problem is not always an inadequate resp

How violence affects recruitment, retention, employee injury, and patient care A workplace violence event may last only a few minutes. Its effects can remain within a healthcare organization much longer. They remain with the injured employee, the coworkers who witnessed it, the supervisor trying to fill the schedule, the recruiter attempting to attract candidates, and the patients and visitors who saw it happen. The immediate danger may end when the individual is brought unde