Senator Henri Martin, Local Nurses & the Hospital Association Applaud Signature of Legislation Protecting Healthcare Workers Against Growing Violence in the Workplace

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 30, 2023

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Senator Henri Martin, Local Nurses & the Hospital Association Applaud Signature of Legislation Protecting Healthcare Workers Against Growing Violence in the Workplace

“An enormous win for Bristol Hospital and healthcare workers throughout the state”

HARTFORD, CT- Today, Senator Henri Martin (R-Bristol), along with Nancy LaMonica, Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer at Bristol Hospital, and Carl Schiessl, Senior Director of Regulatory Advocacy at the Connecticut Hospital Association, applaud the Governor for signing legislation introduced back in January, H.B. 6741, which will help provide safety for healthcare workers. After meeting with a group of nurses and administrators from Bristol Hospital, Senator Martin, introduced the concept and advocated for those that work diligently to keep our communities healthy. The legislation will raise awareness for funding resources available to support updates to hospitals’ building security infrastructure and raise awareness through public service announcements discouraging aggressive or violent behavior toward any healthcare provider in any healthcare setting.

Senator Martin said, “A group of nurses from Bristol Hospital originally brought this concern to me; they were worried about their safety and worried there were no consequences for violent behavior towards a healthcare worker. We rely on nurses, doctors, hospital staff, and administrators when we are most vulnerable. They provide care, safety, and comfort, no matter the situation. It wasn’t an option for the legislature to stand by and allow these health care employees.”

H.B. 6741, An Act Improving the Safety of Health Care Providers and Patients, will provide the following:

• The Department of Public Health will develop a social media campaign and make public service announcements on its website and social media accounts, discouraging violence in healthcare settings.
• The Department of Public Health will raise awareness about grant opportunities administered by the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection to provide for hospital capital investments to enhance patient and employee safety by including the grant opportunities in their social media marketing campaign.

Nancy LaMonica, Vice President & Chief Nursing Officer at Bristol Hospital, continued, “I am thankful to Senator Henri Martin, who heard our nursing voices on what we experience within our healthcare environment at Bristol Health. He set forth on a mission to develop legislation that would start changing our healthcare environment – H.B. 6471 is the beginning step towards a safer workplace. Educating our communities and protecting our entrances will allow us to deliver care in an atmosphere that promotes healing without the fear of being victimized. Together, we will strive to drive healthcare violence to zero.”

“I couldn’t imagine how difficult it is to work to save patients’ lives when they’re facing threats and even bodily harm. We acted to protect the men and women who are already making substantial sacrifices to save the lives of others by passing this vital legislation,” Martin said.

“Connecticut has a dedicated healthcare workforce who are exemplary but exhausted from years of pandemic response and the workforce shortage. At the same time, the healthcare workforce is dealing with increased violence in the workplace. This bill is another step forward in raising awareness about how healthcare workers are uniquely and disproportionately at risk of workplace violence and will further support the work underway at Connecticut hospitals and health systems across the state to support their workers, prevent violence, and further increase safety,” said Carl Schiessl, Senior Director, Regulatory Advocacy at the Connecticut Hospital Association.

“In recent years, we have seen a startling spike in verbal abuse and physical attacks on doctors, nurses, and hospital staff,” said Martin. “As we saw during the pandemic, our healthcare workers are essential to the public health of our communities, and it is our job to do everything we can to protect them. ”

H.B. 6741 passed the House unanimously and was placed on consent in the Senate in the legislative session’s final hours. With Governor Lamont’s signature, the law will represent the first step towards guaranteeing healthcare worker safety and one of the most significant hospital safety reforms in decades.

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