By Jeff Wardon, Jr., Assistant Editor

Violence in healthcare workspaces continues to be a persistent problem, with many healthcare facilities in for a rude awakening if left unaddressed. One problem that can arise from violent incidents is fines, as Allina Health recently learned. 

Allina Health faces over $83,000 in potential fines for workplace violence incidents involving nurses at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports. The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry cited 15 serious incidents, crediting the issues to an ineffective workplace violence prevention program. Nurses report escalating violence, with injuries including concussions and physical assaults. A 2023 union survey found that nearly half of nurses had experienced physical abuse during their careers. 

Related: Geisinger Finds Success with Violence Prevention Efforts

“Facility managers can provide solutions that create a safe and welcoming workplace culture,” AlGene Caraulia, vice president of integration and sustainability with the Crisis Prevention Institute, previously told Healthcare Facilities Today. “By demonstrating a commitment to workplace violence prevention programming, in-house teams will know that managers prioritize their safety, which can create measurable improvements in retention and a culture that aids recruitment.” 

Workplace violence can be tricky to tackle, however, it can be remedied with actionable steps. Caraulia recommends three steps to address workplace violence: 

• Implementation: Effective workplace violence prevention programs have all teams work from the same training and use a shared language. 
• Role definition: Managers need to clearly define roles for everyone in the organization and make those expectations part of the onboarding, training, mentorship and management of healthcare professionals. They also need to extend implementation and program management strategies to conversations among employees, team leaders and supervisors.  
• Organization-wide collaboration: Managers can cause wider collaboration and adoption of de-escalation training through empowering workplace violence prevention committees to include representatives from all levels of an organization. All together, they can help oversee and implement training programs across departments and an organization. 

Jeff Wardon, Jr., is the assistant editor for the facilities market.