Workforce Development

This document provides a list of references to websites and other publicly available resources that hospitals can use to improve workplace safety for providers and staff.

Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) aims to enhance active shooter preparedness through a “whole community” approach by providing a variety of no-cost products, tools, training and resources.

The federal government reports that health care workers are five times more likely to experience workplace violence than employees in all other industries. This American Hospital Association executive dialogue explores how hospitals are using technology and training to mitigate risk, redesigning facilities and workflow processes to prioritize safety, and re-envisioning relationships with hospital security and others to support prevention and crisis response.

In this IPRO HQIC Q&A session, health care professionals share their experiences in developing workplace violence policies and procedures.

In this recorded Q&A session from IPRO QIN-QIO, health care professionals share their experiences in developing workplace violence policies and procedures.

Baptist Memorial Health Care shares training for dealing with active shooter situations in this video.

This webinar from Telligen QI Connect shares methods for engaging hospital leadership in developing strong workplace violence prevention plans for improving communication with patients and families to mitigate violent events.

The American Hospital Association developed this framework to guide health care leaders in their efforts to prevent and mitigate violence. This issue brief examines risk mitigation and is the first in a series that expands on each domain of the framework: culture of safety, violence intervention, trauma support and risk mitigation.

This case study examines how several hospitals and health systems adopted new safety strategies to create safer workplaces for their employees.

Welcome to “Safety Speaks,” an Advancing Health series from the American Hospital Association where hospital and health system leaders share successes from their organizations’ patient safety efforts. In this conversation, Tom Peterson, M.D., vice president and chief safety officer at Trinity Health, discusses how Trinity's focus on both workforce and patient safety is paying off.

In this American Hospital Association podcast, Kenneth Rogers, M.D., vice president and chief medical officer at WellSpan Health, discusses how the implementation of their Behavioral Health Emergency Response Team has successfully de-escalated workplace violence incidents by 75% since 2019, by increasing capacity for their team members to respond to situations that could result in violence.

This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention blog, co-authored by the American Hospital Association, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, highlights efforts by federal agencies and the hospital field to address the mental health and well-being of health care workers following incidents of workplace violence.

This article from The Joint Commission highlights 2022 revisions to Joint Commission standards providing a framework to guide hospitals in developing effective workplace violence prevention systems.

The purpose of this gap analysis from the Minnesota Department of Health is to help health care facilities implement best practices in order to prevent violence from patients to staff.

This publication from the U.S. Department of Labor provides a general overview of worker rights under the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA).

This tool from the American Society for Health Care Risk Management compiles guiding principles for preventing workplace violence from several leading organizations into a readiness survey for health care facilities.

Session one of this workplace violence webinar hosted by Mountain Pacific Quality Health discusses precursors to agitation and aggression, and how to deescalate a situation before it becomes violent.

This website provides valuable information from The Joint Commission enterprise and other organizations related to workplace violence in health care.

With the rise in health care workplace violence and its impact on an already word-down workforce, health system workers are more committed than ever to take action to increase caregiver safety. This webinar will share practical methods for preventing and responding to violence, which have resulted in increased reporting and faster response to incidents.

This report analyzes data gathered in 2023 by National Nurses United (NNU), the largest labor union and professional association for registered nurses in the United States, regarding nurses’ recent experiences of workplace violence. The data underscores the importance of prompt action to protect nurses, other health care workers and their patients.

Currently, no federal law protects health care workers from workplace assault or intimidation. Congress should enact the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act (H.R. 2584/S. 2768), which provides protections similar to those for flight crews, flight attendants and airport workers.

This video topic gives general definitions of disaster terms and Part One explores various human disasters that can affect health care facilities.

Health care workers have a 20 percent higher chance of being the victim of workplace violence than other workers. Hospitals can hang this poster to reinforce the message that all staff must feel safe and respected in the workplace, and that assaults against staff will not be tolerated.

The American Hospital Association's Hospitals Against Violence framework helps guide hospital and health system leadership to address the issues of violence in their workplaces, with an emphasis on educating and protecting the workforce.

This toolkit from the Texas Hospital Association and the Texas Nurses Association provides best practices to help hospitals create safe work environments.

This toolkit from the American Organization for Nursing Leadership and the Emergency Nurses Association provides a step-by-step approach to mitigating violence in the health care workplace.

The American Organization for Nursing Leadership and Emergency Nurses Association developed these principles to assist hospitals and health systems in customizing workplace violence protection programs to help protect their employees and patients through evidence-based practices.

This resource demonstrates how leaders can strategically apply human factors and ergonomics to reduce occupational stress on clinicians and others.

In response to the alarming rise of ransomware attacks, hospitals and health systems must stay vigilant by playing defense, having a mitigation plan and keeping lines of communication open with federal law enforcement. In this podcast, the CEO of Scripps Health talks about how his organization responded when cybercriminals attacked and breached the defenses of the well-prepared health system.

Texas Children's Hospital, in partnership with local law enforcement, held active shooter and mass casualty exercises showcased in this video. . The purpose of the exercises was to test the emergency notification procedures, train staff to respond to an active shooter or mass casualty event, and give law enforcement partners a chance to practice their tactical response.

Session two of this two-part webinar on workplace violence hosted by Mountain Pacific Quality Health covers appropriate responses for staff in highly emotional interactions and examines debriefing steps after such encounters.

This guide from the Healthcare & Public Health Sector Coordinating Council offers step-by-step assistance to health care facilities in the planning, response and recovery of an active shooter event.

This free, interactive course from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is designed to help health care workers better understand the scope and nature of violence in the workplace. Upon successful completion of the course, health care professionals can earn continuing education units.

The Surveys on Patient Safety Culture (SOPS®) Workplace Safety Supplemental Item Set for hospitals was designed the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality for use with the core SOPS Hospital Survey to help hospitals assess the extent to which their organization's culture supports workplace safety for providers and staff.

This guide from the Tennessee Hospital Association provides recommendations, tools and case examples to aid hospitals in the development of a comprehensive workplace violence prevention program.

This infographic developed by The Joint Commission highlights statistics about violence toward health care workers.

This checklist from The Joint Commission provides data-driven interventions for hospitals to consider in developing workplace violence prevention programs.

The purpose of this "Quick Safety" article is to present some de-escalation models and interventions for managing aggressive and agitated patients in the Emergency Department and inpatient settings.

The Brøset Violence Checklist is a six-item list which assists in the prediction of imminent violent behavior. The BVC began as a mental health care tool, and can be used by all staff working with patients or clients.