When you work in an office and someone knicks your artisanal coffee from the fridge, that is small tragedy. You complain to HR, you write passive-aggressive notes, and you vent to your colleagues for twenty-five minutes. Let’s call it the weekly tragedy. It’s much different from what healthcare workers face in their industry.
Historically, the only answer to nurses muffled cries in the breakroom was a poster that said, “Have you tried deep breathing?”. If a nurse complained about a patient punching them in the nose, the answer is, “it’s all part of the job.”
Things might change in the healthcare sector soon. While what workers in this industry face won’t vanish overnight, a few regulatory rules are about to bring minor relief.
Under the proposed Senate Bill 537, employers are required to create a written plan focusing on their employees’ security and safety.
Hospitals, home health agencies, and other healthcare employers in Oregon are now taking steps to protect their staff from workplace violence. The final version of the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division, which is effective from January 2027, will cover the following members of the healthcare industry:
Hospitals (other than the Oregon State Hospital);
Ambulatory surgical centers;
Home health agencies; and
Home hospice programs.
Oregon Senate Bill 537 on workplace violence prevention for healthcare workers
Under the proposed bill, employers are required to create a written plan focusing on their employees’ security and safety. This plan should also address workplace conditions, staffing, personnel policies, reporting procedures, emergency and first-aid procedures as well as employee education and training.
One of the primary responsibilities of the response policies is to also address what happens after an incident. Employers are required to include procedures for internal investigations, identifying affected employees, interviewing employees after incidents, and offering appropriate post-incident care to employees, including medical attention and trauma counseling.
Employers are now required to consult with workplace safety committee that investigates incidents and reporting procedures, conducts periodic security and safety assessments, and annual training.
Maintaining incident logs and recordkeeping
According to the proposal, employers are required to use a Health Care Workplace Violence Incident Log or an equivalent record. The proposed rule identifies a 24-hour reporting requirement for qualifying events such as inpatient hospitalization, a fatality, loss of an eye, amputation or avulsion involving bone loss.
Steps Employers Are Required to Take Now
Hospitals, ambulatory surgical centers, home health agencies, and home hospice programs are now required to review and amend the proposal in details.
Employers are now required to assess physical, operational and staffing risks unique to their work locations. This means all Oregon healthcare employers will now be required to assess parking lots, reception areas, patient rooms, staffing levels, security response, alarm systems, behavioral-health risks and prior incidents or near misses.
Employers will also have to make reporting simple and easily accessible. The purpose of records is also to identify patterns such as riskier times of the day, repeat locations, visitor issues, etc. in order to improve the safety of healthcare employees.
Lastly, training for all members of staff should be practical, role-specific and repeated. It should cover warning signs, de-escalation, reporting expectations, documentation, and available post-incident resources.
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