The Senate Study Committee on Violence Against Health Care Workers closed out its work Monday, approving recommendations to be sent to Senate leadership for consideration. The report, as amended, includes a recommendation to consider expanding enhanced penalties for aggravated assault and aggravated battery for all health care workers – not just those working in emergency rooms.
The committee was created by Senate Resolution 281 during the 2021 Legislative Session and was chaired by Sen. Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick (R-Marietta). It included several members from the health care profession and was tasked with studying the causes and the solutions to the ever-increasing violence committed against health care workers’ needs. Workers in health care settings are four times more likely to be assaulted than workers in private industry, according to the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.
The committee agreed to amend the initial recommendations after committee member Mohak Davé (M.D.) – who serves as the Chief of Emergency Services for Northeast Georgia Health Systems and the President of Georgia Emergency Department Services, P.C.– said he felt all healthcare workers needed added protections. “As the recommendations are written now, there is a double standard in affording protection to health care workers only if they are in an emergency room setting,” said Davé. “How can we tell some health care workers they are not protected in the same way.”
A number of committee members agreed, and the full committee accepted the change. Sen. Kirkpatrick reminded the committee that recommendations are just that. “Actual language, and if a bill is introduced, would remain to be seen. The committee is not introducing legislation so this is about as far as we can go.”
Another recommendation is to encourage state and local law enforcement agencies to partner with healthcare workers for similar training that all peace officers receive such as self-defense and de-escalation.
The other recommendations from the committee include:
● Encourage the use of a behavioral emergency response team.
● Encourage training for all hospital staff for interaction with behavioral health patients and potentially violent patients.
● Encourage risk assessment and screening while patients are being processed.
● Establish an alert system for non-violent patients.
