This is for hospital security administrators and those charged with protecting ERs, or advise EMS companies on how to protect their staff.
Something an Paramedic/Police Officer turned me onto is the insane amount of violent attack against EMS and ER workers [b]internationally[/b[. Most believe that this is something that "goes with the job," and simply file a workman's comp and are done with it.
There are several factors in which a violent attack on your staff may constitute a liability scenerio:
- The Employee is injured or killed
- The Employee uses excessive force to defend themselves
- The Patient is attacked, and a vicarious liability suit arises from the EMS or ER having care, custody, and control of the patient.
I'm told by thie person, a man named Kip Teitsort, that hospital administrators and EMS admin will acknoledge the issue, when they actually get to talk with the man on a one on one level. Kip runs a program called DT4EMS. I would consider him a "vendor with a cause," like some services vendors are, because this man believes that violent encounters happen, and there isn't an adequate level of training.
So, my question to our hospital and EMS security people is: How do you manage the posibility of violent assault? Would you be comfortable with training your medical staff (not security or police) in basic self defense? And, if it is deemed an occupational hazard by OSHA, how would you handle the threat to EMS and ER workers from violent attack, to stay compliant with OSHA occupational hazard mandates?
Something an Paramedic/Police Officer turned me onto is the insane amount of violent attack against EMS and ER workers [b]internationally[/b[. Most believe that this is something that "goes with the job," and simply file a workman's comp and are done with it.
There are several factors in which a violent attack on your staff may constitute a liability scenerio:
- The Employee is injured or killed
- The Employee uses excessive force to defend themselves
- The Patient is attacked, and a vicarious liability suit arises from the EMS or ER having care, custody, and control of the patient.
I'm told by thie person, a man named Kip Teitsort, that hospital administrators and EMS admin will acknoledge the issue, when they actually get to talk with the man on a one on one level. Kip runs a program called DT4EMS. I would consider him a "vendor with a cause," like some services vendors are, because this man believes that violent encounters happen, and there isn't an adequate level of training.
So, my question to our hospital and EMS security people is: How do you manage the posibility of violent assault? Would you be comfortable with training your medical staff (not security or police) in basic self defense? And, if it is deemed an occupational hazard by OSHA, how would you handle the threat to EMS and ER workers from violent attack, to stay compliant with OSHA occupational hazard mandates?
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