Healthcare Safety – Resources

Massachusetts hospitals have been, and remain committed to, working with their staff and patients to review internal systems, develop policies and programs to prevent violence in the workplace, and respond to each and every incident. As new challenges and safety concerns arise, hospitals continually adapt to protect patients and the healthcare workforce. Here are some resources to help.

  • AHA Issue Brief: Building a Safe Workplace and Community — Mitigating Risk of Violence

    This issue brief examines risk mitigation and marks the first in a series that expand on culture of safety, violence intervention, trauma support and risk mitigation.

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  • Taking Action Against Clinician Burnout: A Systems Approach to Professional Well-Being

    The changing landscape of the U.S. health care system – how care is provided, documented, and reimbursed – has had profound effects on clinical practice and the experiences of the professionals who provide patient care (“clinicians”), students and trainees in the clinical learning environment (“learners”), and patients and their families. Mounting system pressures have contributed t...» Full Article

  • End Nurse Abuse Resource Guide

    Download, read and share ANA’s  #EndNurseAbuse Resource Guide and commit to reporting all abuses that you encounter. ...» Full Article

  • ANA – Issue Brief – Reporting Incidents of Workplace Violence

    Reporting Incidents of Workplace Violence Effective Date: 2019 Overview The rate of violence against health care workers has reached epidemic proportions. According to a 2012 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), health care workers in inpatient facilities experienced workplace violence-related injuries requiring days off from work at a rate at least five to 12 times high...» Full Article

  • Protect Yourselves, Protect Your Patients

    The American Nurses Association (ANA) convened a professional issues panel to develop policy and identify strategies to address barriers to nurses and other health care workers reporting violence and abuse, and to strengthen 'zero-tolerance' policies. This under-reported epidemic has devastating results on the healthcare industry. Studies show that WPV can affect the quality of care and care o...» Full Article

  • Human Trafficking Response: Resources for Health Care Professionals

    The American Hospital Association’s Hospitals Against Violence initiative joins the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center (NHTTAC) and HEAL Trafficking to provide key resources and information on how hospitals and health systems can combat human trafficking in their communities. Read more… ...» Full Article

  • Webinar-Up-Close Look at Violence & Violence Prevention

    Healthcare workers are often the target of verbal and physical violence from patients. Hospitals, aware of the trend, are continually making strides to protect their workforce. Recently, a national webinar hosted by the AHA’s Health Research and Educational Trust (HRET) featured MHA and Harrington Healthcare System’s Elise Wilson, R.N., who was violently attacked while caring for a patient. ...» Full Article

  • MHA’s Efforts to Address Healthcare Violence

    Over the last year, MHA convened an interdisciplinary group of hospital staff to identify strategies to address incidents of violence in the workplace. This group consisted of nursing staff, security professionals, risk managers, and others. Its intent was to develop statewide standards and policies that provide a baseline for safety practices and to support adoption of said standards in every h...» Full Article

  • Healthcare Safety Summit, on Tuesday, December 4th — 8 am – to 3 pm

    On behalf of MHA’s Statewide Quality Forum Steering Committee, Workplace Violence Prevention and Planning Workgroup, and the Promoting Employee Wellbeing Committee, please join us for an all-day Healthcare Safety Summit, on Tuesday, December 4 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at MHA, 500 District Ave., Burlington, Mass. We encourage health organizations to bring your teams! As of today, the summit wi...» Full Article

  • Ergonomics Program Builds on Hospital Improvement Efforts

    The Center for Promotion of Health in the New England Workplace (CPH-NEW) has released an online continuing education program to help nurses prevent musculoskeletal injuries in the clinical care setting. The new online education program, developed by CPH‐NEW occupational ergonomics experts and faculty at the Solomont School of Nursing at UMass Lowell, offers 10 essential components of an effect...» Full Article

  • The Joint Commission (TJC)

    The Joint Commission (TJC) has a dedicated portal to share informative and useful resources regarding preventing workplace violence in healthcare settings.

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  • Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA)

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has a series of guidelines and “roadmap” documents – many especially relevant to healthcare – to assist workplaces address the issue of violence

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  • The PatientCareLink‘s Healthcare Safety Page

    The PatientCareLink's Healthcare Safety page lists resources, current laws and regulations, as well as best practices for hospitals to use to craft their own healthcare safety programs. ...» Full Article