New Connecticut Hospital Association Patient Code of Conduct Addresses Workplace Violence
The new patient and family code of conduct prohibits violent behavior, threats, verbal abuse, sexual harassment, weapons, and more.
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In response to the high rate of workplace violence at hospitals, the Connecticut Hospital Association announced a new code of conduct policy for patients and families on Friday.
The new patient code of conduct will apply to 27 of Connecticut’s acute care hospitals that belong to the association, reports MyRecordJournal. It will also apply to several health systems that provide inpatient, outpatient, office-based, and home care services.
Although the new policy does not say what the consequences will be should patients or their families violate the code of conduct, it will prohibit aggressive or violent behavior, threats, verbal abuse, including discriminatory language, sexual harassment, and the possession of weapons.
“Adopting a statewide policy makes it even clearer that Connecticut hospitals are united against violence and will not let up on their efforts to ensure the safety of every person in hospitals across the state,” Association CEO Jennifer Jackson said in a press conference.
Jackson said the new code is intended to address intolerance against healthcare workers, saying employees can’t do their jobs effectively when they are constantly dealing with unacceptable behaviors. However, the new code of conduct won’t apply to patients who are unable to control their behavior.
Healthcare workers account for 73% of all nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses due to violence, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The updated code follows last year’s warning from the Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that hospitals must protect their employees and patients from violence that is increasingly happening at healthcare facilities.
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Robin Hattersley, Editor-in-Chief
Robin has been covering the security and campus law enforcement industries since 1998 and is a specialist in school, university and hospital security, public safety and emergency management, as well as emerging technologies and systems integration. She joined CS in 2005 and has authored award-winning editorial on campus law enforcement and security funding, officer recruitment and retention, access control, IP video, network integration, event management, crime trends, the Clery Act, Title IX compliance, sexual assault, dating abuse, emergency communications, incident management software and more. Robin has been featured on national and local media outlets and was formerly associate editor for the trade publication Security Sales & Integration. She obtained her undergraduate degree in history from California State University, Long Beach.
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