According to OSHA, more assaults occur in the health care and social services industries than in any other industry. These guidelines put those myths to bed once and for all. Merida Rodriguez told of how she, as a mental health aide at the Bronx Municipal Hospital in New York, was hit in the stomach with a chair by a resident in 1994 and suffered a miscarriage as a result of the attack.
Patients have a right to quality care, and workers have a right to a safe workplace.
We can only provide that care if we feel safe. These guidelines should go a long way toward that. Edwards described the dangerous conditions in inner-city social service agencies and expressed concern that conditions in those agencies may get worse. The coalition is made up of more than 20 unions representing health care and social service workers who are especially vulnerable to violent assaults. Employers can be cited for violating the General Duty Clause if there is a recognized hazard of workplace violence in their establishments and they do nothing to prevent it.