National Nurses United

MASSACHUSETTS B eth piknick, rn was injured while moving a patient nearly 25 years ago. She has been fighting ever since to get all Massachusetts healthcare facilities to implement safe patient handling practices. Piknick, a past president of the Massa- chusetts Nurses Association, told state lawmakers her story on Dec. 8 during a public hearing on an Massachusetts Nurses Association bill that would require health- care facilities to implement safe patient handling programs and install equipment necessary to protect workers. While working in the intensive care unit at Cape Cod Hospital, Piknick experienced a stabbing and unrelenting pain in her back while helping to move a patient into bed. Despite surgery and major rehabilitation, Piknick was unable to return to the job she loved. "My family had to cope with both my physical and now my psychological problems as well. The true cost to them can never be quantified," Piknick said. "One of the most surprising and disturbing moments in this whole experience was when I learned that my injury could have been prevented. I thought my facility was up to date with equipment. It wasn't. There is equipment available for every lift and/or movement that is necessary to safely take care of our patients." As healthcare workers in Massachusetts and across the country move patients—each lifting 1.8 tons during an average shift—they are being injured at precipitous rates. Solu- tions have been proposed by both a state task force and the MNA, and yet the hospi- tal industry refuses to take action. In fact, as documented in an alarming report by WGBH News, the Massachusetts Hospital Association actively worked for more than a year to suppress a Department of Public MASSACHUSETTS T he successes of unionized regis- tered nurses at two hospitals in west- ern Massachusetts were highlighted in a new publication by the federal gov - ernment about preventing workplace violence in healthcare. The report uses case studies to show best practices, including those at Provi- dence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke and Mercy Medical Center in Springfield. "The nurses at Providence Hospital and Mercy Medical Center are excited to have their years of hard work presented to the public and made available for use by nurses and healthcare professionals around the country," said Andrea Fox, RN, a Massachu- setts Nurses Association associate director and chief bargaining negotiator for both units. "This achievement underscores the valuable role unionized nurses can play in improving the safety of workers and patients." RNs at Providence and Mercy are featured in two Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) articles: "Preventing Workplace Violence: A Road Map for Healthcare Facilities" and "Work- place Violence Prevention and Related Goals." The OSHA articles detail efforts by nurses represented by the MNA at Provi- dence Hospital to improve in areas such as de-escalation and alternative restraints. "In the late 1990s and early 2000s, regis- tered nurses at Providence Hospital—a 104- bed behavioral health facility in Holyoke, Massachusetts—raised concerns about rising levels of violence and high rates of assaults by patients. With assistance from their union, the Massachusetts Nurses Asso- ciation, the nurses brought their concerns to the bargaining table during contract negoti- ations. The union proposed research-based changes to hospital policies to address work- place violence," OSHA wrote. Cindy Chaplin, an RN at Providence Hospital and chair of that hospital's bargaining committee, is quoted in the OSHA report, speaking about treatment of patients with behavioral issues. "Where some hospitals would limit their approach to medication, we use a more holis- tic approach," Chaplin said. "We work with patients as individuals, to find out what has a calming effect on them, and help them put that into practice. The result can be a positive change that lasts the rest of their lives." OSHA also details a full-scale active shooter exercise conducted at Mercy Medical Center earlier this year. It included three scenarios: gang violence in the emergency department, a behavioral health escalation incident, and an estranged ex-boyfriend in the maternity unit. Addressing workplace violence has been a major initiative for the MNA for more than a decade, both at the union negotiating table and state legislature. The MNA has two occu- pational health and safety staff experts who work with practicing nurses on its Workplace Violence Prevention Task Force to develop model contract language. They also educate nurses, managers, local law enforcement, and policymakers about the issue. An MNA bill pending before the state legislature would require healthcare facilities to look at working hours, public access to the area, working in high-crime areas, staffing levels, and other factors that affect safety. Hospitals would then need to develop a writ- ten violence prevention plan and put meas- ures in place to minimize risks. —Joe Markman 4 N A T I O N A L N U R S E W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N O V E M B E R | D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5 NEWS BRIEFS Keystone RNs lobby for safe patient handling law Hospitals noted by OSHA for anti-violence plans MNA RNs were key to adopting plans at the two facilities

• Cover