Political Quotes

“I want to thank the gentleman from Connecticut for yielding and for his untiring leadership on workplace safety issues. I rise in support of H.R. 1309, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Healthcare and Social Service Workers Act. Healthcare facilities are where we should be going to get well, but too often, hardworking, highly skilled employees of these facilities are regularly beaten, kicked, punched, and sometimes killed while performing their jobs. Healthcare and social service workers are four times as likely to suffer serious workplace violence injuries compared to workers in other sectors. Many can never return to work after the assault. The Government Accountability Office has found the dangers to such workers has gotten worse over the past decade. From 2008 to 2017, workplace violence incidence rates have more than doubled at private hospitals and home healthcare services with the highest rates of violence found in psychiatric and substance abuse hospitals. Most acts of workplace violence in healthcare facilities are foreseeable, and they are preventable by implementing workplace violence prevention plans. Although OSHA and the Joint Commission for hospital accreditations have issued authoritative guidance, voluntary efforts alone are not enough to ensure the safety of these workers.…”