Effective July 1, hospitals and other healthcare institutions licensed in Virginia are required to establish a workplace violence reporting system to track, analyze and respond to incidents of workplace violence. Under the new requirements, healthcare entities must also report these incidents annually to the Virginia Department of Health in an aggregated manner.
Who must comply with Virginia’s new workplace violence reporting requirements?
The new requirements apply to a “hospital” licensed in Virginia pursuant to Article 1. Hospital and Nursing Home Licensure and Inspection, Chapter 5, Title 32.1 of the Code of Virginia. Virginia law defines as “hospital” as a licensed facility where the primary function of the facility is the diagnosis, treatment and provision of medical and nursing services to two or more unrelated individuals. In Virginia, hospitals include a variety of types of facilities, including children’s hospitals, sanatoriums, sanitariums and general, acute, rehabilitation, chronic disease, short-term, long-term, outpatient surgical, and inpatient or outpatient maternity hospitals.
Importantly, the law does not apply to healthcare entities that do not meet the Virginia definition of hospital. For example, it does not apply to outpatient medical practices, federally qualified health centers, nursing homes, or institutions licensed by the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. However, it is still prudent for healthcare entities who are not subject to the law to maintain appropriate policies and procedures to address workplace violence.
What type of workplace violence must be tracked and reported?
Workplace violence means any act of violence or threat of violence, without regard to the intent of the perpetrator, that occurs against a hospital employee on hospital property. The broad definition includes threats or physical force used against an employee that results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, psychological trauma or stress. Actual physical injury is not required to qualify as workplace violence. The perpetrator could include any individual in the hospital, such as an employee, patient, visitor, or family member.
What are the key requirements of the law?
- Hospitals must maintain detailed records of each reported incident of workplace violence for a minimum of two years. Each incident report must include specific requirements, including the hospital’s response to the incident.
- The hospital must communicate its workplace reporting system to all employees. The hospital must educate employees on when and how to report incidents of workplace violence to their employer, security agencies and law enforcement authorities.
- Hospitals must adopt a policy that prohibits discrimination or retaliation against any employee for making a report of workplace violence or participating in any incident investigation, among other protected activities.
Take-aways: Workplace violence continues to pose a significant risk for healthcare workers and patient safety. Hospitals and other entities covered by this new law must take steps to update their policies and internal policies to ensure compliance.
