The nature of a healthcare worker's environment has unique safety and security concerns requirements for the industry and employees alike.  Exposure to daily risk requires awareness and training in order to become familiar with the Risk Factors and know what measures to take to minimize exposure to risk. Social Workers, Psychiatrist and Custodial Care providers in mental healthcare are at great risk while nurses experience injuries at rate of 72% higher than technicians. At the same time, nurses suffer injuries more than twice the rate of medical field workers (National Crime Victimization Survey).

Healthcare personnel on the frontlines...

Doctors, social workers, nurses, aides, orderlies, custodians and security personnel have tremendous potential for hostile exchanges between patients, family members, visitors, vendors and salespeople through direct and indirect interaction. This potentially explosive environmental hazard is part of a healthcare employee's daily exposure. Verbal exchanges between staff and patients and family members in a busy waiting room, distraught family members over a medical prognosis, short medical and support staff, freedom of movement by mentally ill patients, access to drugs, confrontations between patients and security personnel and more seriously armed family members and feuds between gang members are all real scenarios encountered by healthcare employees daily in every hospital and medical treatment facility around the nation.

Security awareness helps a little bit…

Knowing the risk factors helps to heighten morale, reduce stress, and increase confidence in them and credibility in the employer’s ability to provide a safe work environment. Minimizing the potential for danger by staying alert is vitally important. Avoiding treatment of hostile patients alone is common sense. Refusing to engage in verbal exchanges between patients, family members and stressed employees is sound advice. Containing the situation and maintaining your composure reduces the chances of by-standers from getting involved on the side of the distraught family members and patients. Being alert of one's surroundings while traveling alone through the buildings during off hours and while traveling to and from your homes and treatment facilities will diminish your exposure. Escorting distraught or volatile family members through hospital corridors alone is a no-no. Keeping drugs and secure areas under lock and key reduces the chances of assault by a robber looking for drugs or money. Wearing of expensive jewelry or displaying sums of money mark you by predators for robbery.

Your exposure to risk is everywhere…

Your exposure to risk or compromise can occur at anytime during your work-related duty and is not limited to your immediate surrounding. You could be targeted by perpetrators from the time you depart your home, from adjoining buildings and surrounding perimeter of your locations, in parking lots, any field location, during official travel in your car between visits and your main office. Knowing your surroundings and what to do are vitally important to one's safety, morale and confidence. Walking upstairs alone or getting into an elevator with suspicious individuals only increases your potential for risk. You're at risk at psychiatric facilities, community mental health clinics, community healthcare facilities, pharmacies and correctional clinics.  Making false assumptions is the greatest threat. Predators are opportunist and when you appear vulnerable they strike. Something as simple as parking under a light and near your visit or stop at night is better than parking in a poorly lit area. Instead of having to walk a greater distance is taken for granted in high crime areas. Not being conscious of your surroundings places one in greater risk especially in high crime areas.

How violence can affect you…

In addition to the traditional acts of aggressively violent behavior it is the psychological affects of the exposure. It is exposure to suicides and/or attempted suicide, rapes, threats; direct or indirect, obscene language; including phone calls, intimidation, harassment, being followed and being sworn or shouted at by co-workers, superiors, patients and family members.  Statistically speaking, nurses suffer the largest number of incidents and highest rate of non-fatal injury. Incidents between current and former workers are higher in the healthcare industry because of its endemic nature. Domestic feuds are situations that spill into the workplace and result in stalking and confrontations on the streets. It is not unusual for crimes of rapes, sexual assault and simple assault being committed while on duty.