| Five-year grant boosts safety at OASAS and OCFS PEF tackles workplace violence By DEBORAH A. MILES Thousands of PEF members work in high-risk occupations, such as law enforcement, mental health and health care. And, all too often, these workers become victims of violence. Within the last six months, a nurse at the Bronx Psychiatric Center was repeatedly punched in the face, chest and arm by an agitated patient. An associate psychologist at the Manhattan Psychiatric Center sustained lacerations and swelling to her lips and required sutures after a patient punched her in the mouth. And another member, an associate psychologist at the Staten Island Developmental Center, had her head jerked back and forth by a patient who grabbed her by the hair. She ended up with whiplash, along with acute neck and shoulder pain. Working with researchers To help reduce situations that lead to workers being hurt, PEF teamed with researchers from the University of Maryland, who recently launched a five-year project to prevent workplace violence. Federal funding for the project comes from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Two NYS agencies — the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services’ (OASAS) and Office of Children and Family Services agreed to join the project. Management and union leaders have committed to work together to identify risk factors and interventions that will reduce violence. Tools for safety “Employees need the tools and resources to learn how to work with a diverse population — people with mental illness, physical impairments of great severity and criminal backgrounds,” said Deborah Egel, PEF labor-management chair for OASAS. Egel said the project can make a difference because it will teach staff how to prevent threats and assaults before they happen. “The clients come and go, but the staff is here to stay,” she said. Each agency will have a project advisory group — a team including union representatives, state managers and researchers from the University of Maryland. A violence prevention plan will be tailored to each facility, based on the team’s observations and staff comments. Aiming for high standards Nationally, an average of 1.7 million non-fatal workplace assaults occurred annually from 1993 to 1999, according to a U.S. Justice Department survey. “Workplace violence is an extremely serious problem,” said Matt London, the grant coordinator in PEF’s health and safety department. “No one should have to go to work and worry about getting hurt.” No national or state standards are in place to prevent workplace violence, so PEF continues to push the state Department of Labor’s Hazard Abatement Board to enact a workplace violence prevention standard to help safeguard workers. “Our goal is to have every agency and facility develop a site-specific violence prevention plan,” London said. PEF is also tackling violence prevention on other fronts. The union participated in a three-year collaborative violence prevention project at selected state psychiatric hospitals that ended this year, according to Jonathan Rosen, PEF director of health and safety. |
New H&S materials available The PEF Health and Safety Department has updated resource materials. For free copies, call 1-800-342-4306 ext. 254, send an e-mail to dthomson@pef.org or download the materials from the PEF Web site, www.pef.org. Here are some of the most frequently requested items. Fact Sheets: • Resolving Indoor Temperature Control Problems A hot or cold work environment can lead to physical discomfort and disrupt work operations. This fact sheet includes steps to take when indoor temperature problems are encountered. • Workplace Violence Prevention Homicide is the third leading cause of death-on-the-job for men and the leading cause for women. Learn how serious the problem is, who is at risk and what can be done to prevent workplace violence. • Occupational Stress Occupational stress is a major hazard for PEF members. Increased workloads, downsizing, overtime, hostile work environments and shift work are just a few of the causes. This how-to guide identifies risk factors and offers solutions for change. • 15 Things Every PEF Leader Should Know About H&S, 2004 Videos: • Violence on the Job A new training and educational DVD from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health discusses practical measures for identifying risk factors for violence at work, and taking strategic actions for employee safety. Featured in the video are PEF President Roger Benson, PEF members Jill Dangler, Debbie Egel, and Rhonda Bedow, and PEF retiree Dennis Beagle. |
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