Rally in Sacramento calls for stronger safety standards throughout hospitals

Nurses concerned for their safety rallied at the California state capitol in support of a Senate bill that would require the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health to improve security standards and safety training. Some are calling the effort a waste of time and money, according to an article on the CBS Sacramento website.

The nurses believe the recent shooting at a Daly City medical building and the stabbings of two registered nurses at two separate Los Angeles-area hospitals underscore the need to increase security and emergency-preparedness training.

But opponents say the bill is just a duplication of a plan that is already in place in emergency rooms and other high-risk areas identified in security assessments.

Sen. Alex Padilla said Cal/OSHA’s current security requirements don’t go far enough.

“Violence can occur in other parts of the hospital,” he said. “It can occur inside the hospital. It can occur in the parking lot, on the perimeter of the hospital, and I think we owe it to both the workers and the public that safety plans are reflective of modern-day realities.”

Read the article.