It's
been a year since intensive case manager Judith Scanlon's
brutal murder at the home of one of her mentally ill
clients brought the dangers facing mental-health workers
to newspaper headlines. And throughout the year PEF has
been fighting for - and winning - several safeguards to
protect other mental-health workers from those dangers.
And the fight for more protections continues.In late October, the state Department of Labor's Public Employee Safety and Health (PESH) program completed its investigation into Scanlon's death.
PEF President Roger Benson said the report shows the Buffalo Psychiatric Center (BPC), Scanlon's employer, should have done more to protect her.
"PESH should be commended for completing a thorough investigation," Benson said. "The PESH orders cite the state Office of Mental Health's Buffalo Psychiatric Center for violating the "general duties" clause of the state labor law. That clause requires employers to provide 'employment that is free from recognized hazards that were causing or likely to cause death or serious physical harm to employees.' "
The PESH inspector determined that "OMH recognized that the hazard of assaults and workplace violence exists to the intensive case managers (ICMs) at state-run facilities... (and) BPC did not ensure the same level of protection consistent with other state-run ICM programs."
The PESH order required BPC to implement five corrective measures, which the facility did complete during the investigation. Specifically, the hospital was ordered to:
· provide ICMs with training in dealing with potentially violent patients and follow-up training;
· implement an accountability system to keep track of all employees assigned to the field;
· establish formal protocols for when ICMs conduct home visits;
· provide for accompanied home visits when the patient has a history of violent behavior, and
· give ICMs a means to summon help when needed.
To that end, PEF Division 180 Council Leader Paul Shea convinced BPC management to provide 40 cell phones to the hospital's field workers.
But while positive steps have been taken to protect workers at BPC, including a new initiative to review all safety policies in all outpatient areas, they have not been put into place, statewide.
"These measures should be required for all ICM programs and other field operations that require workers to enter homes of people who have a history of violent behavior," Benson said. "That's why PEF is supporting legislation sponsored by state Sen. Richard Maziarz and Assembly Member Sam Hoyt that would codify the measures required by PESH and implemented at BPC."
"Sadly, Judi's death has raised public awareness of the problem, just as Kendra Webdale's death did," said Shea. "Now I'm hoping that we can get a bill passed in Judi's honor, so we'll have a better chance of really addressing the problem."
PEF's Legislative Director Brian Curran says the Hoyt/Maziarz measures will likely be carried over to the next legislative session, and PEF will renew its aggressive lobbying campaign for passage of "Judith's Law."