At nearly every meeting I attend these days, whether it's a patient experience conference, a gathering of nurse leaders or a meeting of healthcare finance and administrative leaders, a common issue emerges: the persistent verbal and physical violence committed against our team members.
There have always been incidents of challenging and abusive patients and visitors, but the frequency with which our front-line colleagues face these assaults is increasing. It's a trend that has not abated even as we move beyond the very challenging period of the pandemic.
Many organizations like mine are deploying a broad array of interventions to address this issue. At NewYork-Presbyterian, we have trained our staff extensively on de-escalation tactics and recognizing potentially aggressive behavior before it becomes harmful. We created Behavioral Emergency Response Teams to respond to particularly difficult situations and instituted new policies to help bring real-time support to our team members when they face verbal or physical abuse. And, we have established standards of conduct for patients and visitors when they are within our walls. These are some of the core elements of an even more extensive effort that is part of our organization's Zero Harm Program.
We've also taken the very important step of strengthening the tracking of all harm events — both for patients and our team members — so we can collect data to strengthen our knowledge and drive further response. Our chief operating officer convenes a Tier 4 Huddle multiple times a week, where the senior leadership team of our hospital hears about each and every incident of harm at our hospital. I attend these huddles, and it is a sobering experience. It's hard to hear what our teams sometimes endure. Yet, awareness of each event assures the top of our organization is focusing attention on harm reduction. It also assures that we track issues and continually act to reduce harm.
This array of initiatives, along with other forms of support we have in place for both patients and our team members, is proving helpful. However, the incidents continue to occur here and in healthcare organizations around the country. My perception, based on many conversations with colleagues, suggests that there's a widespread sense nationwide that we have not yet fully cracked the code on this very important issue.
Federal legislation that gives healthcare organizations more standing to take action against perpetrators of violence within our walls seems increasingly necessary. Airlines have been given more power to take action, and it has appeared to deter some from acting out. We need a similar ability within healthcare to address violence, shield our teams, hold perpetrators accountable and even restrict access to services for repeat offenders.
A bill currently before Congress, the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act (H.R. 2584), would put in place stricter enforcement and penalties for violent behavior. This bill has the support of many healthcare associations nationally. This is a good start, and all of us should push for congressional action to address this prevalent problem.
It's important to acknowledge that this work will be complex. Health systems need to do the work to thoughtfully sort through the issues and develop new, clear standards for behavior that deter acts of violence and promote respectful interactions. Some verbally and physically violent patients are not fully responsible for their actions due to their illness. We have to be able to distinguish between those who should be held accountable and those who cannot. We also want to be careful to maintain our core values of respect and empathy, even while acting to protect others.
All of us who lead in healthcare should engage in dialogue and advocacy with our regulatory leaders and our professional associations to ensure that this issue receives attention from our legislators. We owe this to everyone who works and comes for care within our institutions.