Nurses rally to demand workplace violence prevention plans, hands-on training, new protocols

Registered nurses at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, Fla. will hold a rally on March 18 to demand management work with nurses to create workplace violence prevention plans, initiate hands-on training for nurses and other hospital personnel, and implement protocols and policies to reduce workplace violence. The rally follows a serious recent attack on two nurses at Fawcett, as well as another well-publicized attack on a nurse at HCA’s Florida Palms West Hospital.

“Today, we have two nurses who are dealing with serious consequences from an attack by a patient after the hospital failed to ensure the patients' and the nurses' safety,” said Valerie Jean, a registered nurse in the float pool. “For years, we have called on HCA to work with us to implement workplace violence prevention plans and to address the staffing crisis that creates the conditions for workplace violence. This week’s attack is a stark reminder of the dangers that nurses and patients face when our hospitals fail to invest in training and staffing or fail to implement clear protocols to deal with patients in crisis.”

Who: RNs at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital
What: Rally to demand workplace violence prevention plans and protocols
When: Tuesday, March 18, at 8:00 a.m.
Where: HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital 21298 Olean Blvd., Port Charlotte, Fla.
Location is corner of Aaron and Olean Blvd.

Fawcett nurses are demanding that management work with nurses to:

• Create unit-specific workplace violence prevention plans
• Implement clear reporting mechanism for workplace violence incidents
• Institute hands-on de-escalation training for nurses and other staff 

“We know that nurses are facing workplace violence on a daily basis, which is exacerbated by poor staffing,” said Janet Mayl, a registered nurse in post anesthesia care unit. “No one is safe in our hospitals when nurses are not safe. We must demand that HCA implement protocols and policies designed to create safe, healing spaces in our hospital. We know that workplace violence prevention plans work, so that is why we are demanding HCA work with us to create plans immediately.”

Earlier this year, a brutal attack of a nurse at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital garnered headlines. Since that incident, there have been at least two other incidents reported of workplace violence at the hospital.

A survey conducted by NNU that was released last year indicates that health care workers have experienced a surge in workplace violence rates nationally, and the problem was exacerbated by the health care industry’s actions during the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey results found that 81.6 percent of nurses who responded had experienced at least one type of workplace violence within the past year.

NNU strongly supports national legislation that supports a comprehensive workplace violence prevention standard. The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act is aimed at protecting nurses, all health care workers, and patients from workplace violence. This bill is scheduled to be reintroduced into Congress later this year. This federal bill would mandate that federal OSHA create a standard that would require health care and social service employers to create, implement, and maintain effective workplace violence prevention plans. 

“We know there are ways to combat workplace violence that work,” said Mayl. “We must implement these policies so that no other nurse, staff member, or patient is injured on our watch.”

CNA/NNOC/NNU represents more than 250 registered nurses at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital.

National Nurses Organizing Committee is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with nearly 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates also include California Nurses Association, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.