Workplace Violence Prevention Month

April is National Workplace Violence Month, which is dedicated toward raising awareness of workplace violence prevention. As health care workers, we are more targeted by violence than any other profession. This fact, coupled with feedback from employees regarding their safety in past employee engagement surveys, prompted the institution of our Workplace Violence Program back in 2021. Though a few years into our program, this National Workplace Violence Month, we want to reiterate the background of the program, its importance and any resources you may need to continue to keep yourself, your patients and your colleagues safe.

What constitutes as workplace violence?

Workplace violence can take a number of forms, including physical violence, physical assault or threatening behavior, and can be experienced in a variety of ways, such as colleague-colleague, domestic violence, employee-patient, and more.

What is the goal of the Workplace Violence Program?

The goal of our program is to provide a safer environment for our staff, patients, and visitors by mitigating (or controlling) acts of violence within our facilities.

How do I report events?

Employees should report every safety event through RL6, as well as notify their immediate supervisor; when submitting a Workplace Violence event, please be sure to include reference of that (e.g., workplace violence, WPV) within the report, along with identifying the patient/visitor/staff involved, and clear details about the event (including direct quotes, if relevant to the incident).

Who can I go to for help?

Staff are encouraged to call, TEAMs or email the Workplace Violence Team if they have any questions or concerns surrounding Workplace Violence. Either Melissa Jones, Director of Workplace Violence Prevention Program ( JonesM5@ihn.org ); Lauren Nash-Mitchell, Program Manager and covering Bridgeton, Vineland and Elmer (NashMitchellL@ihn.org ); or Justin Rodriguez (rodriguezj4@ihn.org ) covering Mullica Hill and Woodbury, will be glad to field your query.