Workplace Violence Prevention
CARF® standards require that all personnel receive training for workplace violence, upon hire and at least annually. Accreditation Now (www.accreditationnow.com) provides two training protocols for your workplace violence prevention program which may be completed electronically or through hard-copy instruction. Custom trainings should be implemented that address the needs of your specific organization. In addition to the training programs, workplace violence prevention policies and procedures templates may be accessed through the Documents section which is available to all Accreditation Now subscribers.
Workplace violence prevention is important across all fields but especially so in the health and social services industries. Statistics indicate that although the healthcare industry accounts for only 9% of the workforce in the United States, it accounts for more workplace violence injuries than all other industries combined. Workplace violence is the third leading cause of death in the healthcare and professional services industries and workplace violence is the second leading cause of on-the-job death for women.
Prevention must address all forms of violence from intimidating language to full-scale assault. Your prevention program should be designed to protect personnel, persons served, visitors and property.
Assessment
There is no one-size-fits-all workplace violence prevention program. The first step to designing the most complete and appropriate program for your organization is assessing the environment. An inpatient program for court-appointed clients will differ greatly from an in-home service provider for the elderly. All organizations should take a pro-active approach to this important requirement.
Assessment Considerations
- Populations Served
- Types of Services Provided
- Physical Location Characteristics
- Neighborhood Characteristics
- Personnel Knowledge and Training
- Current Prevention Programs
- Worker on Worker Violence
- Worker on Person Served Violence
- Person Served on Worker Violence
- Person Served on Person Served Violence
- Outside Entities (Criminal Intent)
Your assessment can be compared with a variety of solutions for each vulnerable area identified. Ongoing assessments can be considered through the use of the Accreditation Now critical incident reporting and summary functions
Prevention and Risk Management
Policies, procedures and trainings should focus on both prevention and management. Minimizing violent risks might range from the presence of a security officer to providing stress-management systems for personnel. Personnel should be trained to recognize the signs of agitation which can lead to escalation and procedures for de-escalation. Personnel should be thoroughly trained in your organizations seclusion and restraint policies and procedures. In addition to written training consider group training of personnel that would include role-playing. The more familiar personnel are with procedures the more likely they will respond appropriately during an actual episode.
Critical incident reporting must be utilized to determine where violence or a propensity for violence occurs within the organization. Your system should categorize incidents in a meaningful way. For more on critical incident reporting see Critical Incident Management (https://www.accreditationnow.com/moreDetails.asp?page=Electronic-Critical-Incident-Reporting).
CARF® standards require grievance policies and procedures for personnel and persons served. Addressing concerns early indicates an ongoing commitment to reducing violent episodes in the workplace. Your systems should categorize complaints in a meaningful way. For more on grievance reporting see Grievances (https://www.accreditationnow.com/moreDetails.asp?page=Grievance-Reporting).
Accreditation Now Resources for Workplace Violence Prevention
- The Accreditation Now website provides over 50 document templates specific to Risk Management, Health and Safety and Non-Violent Practices.
- Critical Incident Reporting and Summation tools.
- Client Grievance System
- Personnel Grievance System
- Prepared Trainings
- Custom Training System
This content provided by: Accreditation Now, Inc.
