What are Oregon’s Rules for Health Care Workplace Violence Prevention?

Compliance Corner

The headlines seem to report ever-growing amounts of workplace violence in health care settings across the country, and states are taking action to keep workers safe.

For example, as Simply Research subscribers know, Oregon has rules and regulations for workplace violence prevention in health care settings, and those rules are highlighted here.

Employers' Duties

A health care employer, in consultation with the employer’s workplace safety committee described in ORS 654.176, shall:

(a) Conduct periodic security and safety assessments to identify existing or potential threats of workplace violence;

(b) Develop and implement a workplace violence prevention and protection program for employees based on assessments conducted; and

(c) Provide workplace violence prevention and protection training on an annual basis for employees and any contracted security personnel who work at the premises of the health care employer.

Assessments

An assessment shall include, but need not be limited to:

(a) A measure of the frequency of workplace violence, including attempts of workplace violence, that are committed against employees on the premises of a health care employer or in the home of a patient receiving home health care services during the preceding five years or for the years that records are available if fewer than five years of records are available;

(b) An analysis of the root causes and consequences of workplace violence committed against employees, including a plan for addressing the analyzed causes; and

(c) Findings on the extent to which the security considerations were implemented to mitigate risks of workplace violence.

Workplace Violence Prevention and Protection Program

A workplace violence prevention and protection program developed and implemented by a health care employer under shall incorporate and implement a workplace violence prevention and response plan. The plan shall:

(a) Be based on an assessment.

(b) Address security considerations related to the following:

(A) Physical attributes of the health care setting;

(B) Staffing plans, including security staffing;

(C) Personnel policies;

(D) First aid and emergency procedures;

(E) Procedures for reporting incidents of workplace violence; and

(F) Education and training for employees.

(F) Education and training for employees.

(c) Include policies and procedures for:

(A) Conducting internal investigations of incidents of workplace violence that occur on the premises of the health care employer.

(B) Identifying employees involved in a workplace violence incident.

(C) Conducting post-incident employee interviews for the purpose of gathering factual details about an incident of workplace violence.

(D) Implementing post-incident response strategies that address the provision of:

(i) First aid or medical care to employees who have been injured in a workplace violence incident; and

(ii) Trauma counseling for employees affected by an incident of workplace violence.

Training Required

Workplace violence prevention and protection training required shall address the following topics:

(A) General safety and personal safety procedures, including emergency response guidelines that may be used to notify employees and contracted security personnel who work at the premises of the health care employer of a threat or occurrence of workplace violence;

(B) The meaning of workplace violence;

(C) Escalation cycles for assaultive behaviors and other violent or threatening behaviors;

(D) Predictive factors of workplace violence;

(E) Techniques for obtaining medical history from a patient with assaultive or other threatening or violent behavior;

(F) Verbal and physical techniques to de-escalate and minimize assaultive behaviors and threats of workplace violence;

(G) Strategies for avoiding physical harm and minimizing use of restraints;

(H) Restraint techniques consistent with regulatory requirements;

(I) Self-defense, including:

i) The amount of physical force that is reasonably necessary to protect the employee or a third person from assault; and

(ii) The use of least restrictive procedures necessary under the circumstances, in accordance with an approved behavior management plan, and any other methods of response approved by the health care employer;

(J) Procedures for documenting and reporting incidents involving assaultive behaviors and incidents of workplace violence;

(K) Programs for post-incident counseling and follow-up;

(L) Resources available to employees for coping with workplace violence;

(M) The health care employer’s workplace violence prevention and protection program, including the health care employer’s internal investigation process for investigating incidents of workplace violence;

(N) Visual cues and other methods that may be used to identify or notify employees about individuals exhibiting behavioral indicators of workplace violence; and

(O) Responding to active shooter incidents.

(b) A health care employer shall provide workplace violence prevention and protection training to:

(A) A new employee, other than a temporary employee, within 90 days of the employee’s initial hiring date.

(B) A temporary employee, within 14 days of the employee’s initial hiring date.

(c) A health care employer may use classes, video recordings, brochures, verbal or written training or other training that the employer determines to be appropriate, based on an employee’s job duties, under the workplace violence prevention and protection program developed by the employer.

(d) A health care employer shall ensure that a person with the appropriate knowledge and expertise is available to employees to answer questions and clarify any aspects of the workplace violence prevention and protection training through in-person interaction, phone, electronic mail or other reasonable means of communication.

Annual Review

Once a year, a health care employer shall establish, in coordination with the health care employer’s workplace safety committee as described in ORS 654.176, a process by which the committee shall review the health care employer’s workplace violence prevention and protection program to evaluate the efficacy of the program and consider any changes to the program that are necessary to promote the prevention of workplace violence.

Written Notice

(a) A health care employer shall provide to each employee and, if applicable, to the employee’s union representative, a written copy of the workplace violence prevention and response plan, including a written statement explaining that an employee who reports an incident of workplace violence has a right to be protected from retaliation.

(b) For newly hired employees, the health care employer shall provide the copy of the plan and the accompanying statement within 30 calendar days from the date of hire.

Share This Article: