2010
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       
       SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 10-035
       
       
       BY SENATOR(S) Tochtrop, Boyd;
       also REPRESENTATIVE(S) Acree, Apuan, Balmer, Baumgardner,
       Benefield, Bradford, Casso, Court, Curry, DelGrosso, Ferrandino,
       Fischer, Frangas, Gagliardi, Gardner B., Gardner C., Gerou,
       Hullinghorst, Judd, Kagan, Kefalas, Kerr A., Kerr J., King S., Labuda,
       Lambert, Levy, Liston, Looper, Massey, May, McCann, McFadyen,
       McKinley, McNulty, Merrifield, Middleton, Miklosi, Murray, Nikkel,
       Pace, Peniston, Pommer, Primavera, Priola, Rice, Riesberg, Roberts,
       Ryden, Scanlan, Schafer S., Solano, Sonnenberg, Soper, Stephens,
       Summers, Swalm, Tipton, Todd, Tyler, Vaad, Vigil, Waller, Weissmann,
       Carroll T.
       
       
          CONCERNING SUPPORT FOR MEASURES TO REDUCE
       VIOLENCE AGAINST MEDICAL CARE PROFESSIONALS IN
       HOSPITALS. 
       
       
          WHEREAS, Emergency medical care providers and medical care
       professionals in hospitals are committed to providing treatment to any
       injured or ill person, regardless of the circumstance; and
       
          WHEREAS, Studies show an increasing number of assaults against
       hospital medical care workers resulting in bodily harm; and
       
          WHEREAS, The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
       issued a 2002 publication entitled Violence:  Occupational Hazards in
       Hospitals, which explains that violence in hospitals is often different from
       violence in other workplaces because it results from patients and families
       who may feel frustrated, vulnerable, and out of control; and
       
          WHEREAS, Hospital medical care professionals are particularly
       vulnerable to workplace assaults because of several unique risk factors
       such as the open, welcoming environment of hospitals and the resulting
       continuous stream of patients and visitors, the increase in the number of
       patients with substance abuse issues, and the presence of distraught
       family members; and
       
          WHEREAS, Recent studies report that workplace violence is a
       significant and widespread public health concern among health care
       workers and not only among those workers in emergency or psychiatric
       departments; the health care sector, in general, continues to lead all other
       industry sectors in the incidence of nonfatal workplace assaults; and
       
          WHEREAS, The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that, in
       2000, almost half of all nonfatal injuries from violent acts against workers
       occurred in the health care sector; and
       
          WHEREAS, A recent survey found that 20% of a hospital's staff
       reported a physical assault in the last five shifts worked; one Florida study
       reported that 100% of emergency department nurses had experienced
       verbal threats and 82% reported having been physically assaulted; and
       
          WHEREAS, Although staff in other hospital units also reported
       unacceptably high levels of verbal threats and physical violence,
       emergency department staff experienced the highest volume of reported
       assaults; and
       
          WHEREAS, Violence against medical care professionals occurs
       regardless of the size or location of the hospital or community; and
       
          WHEREAS, The safety of Colorado's medical care professionals
       working in hospitals is essential for Colorado's health care system to
       function properly to provide the best care for residents of the state; now,
       therefore,
       
          Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-seventh General Assembly of
       the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:
       
          That we, the members of the Colorado General Assembly, hereby:
       
          (1)  Applaud the dedication and resolve of medical care professionals
       who work in hospitals under conditions that are not only stressful but may
       be high-risk as well;
       
          (2)  Recognize the serious nature and unacceptably high number of
       violent acts committed against medical care professionals in hospitals and
       the need to better ensure a safe working environment for those workers;
       and
       
          (3)  Express support for exploring future measures designed
       specifically to strengthen penalties for perpetrators of assaults against
       medical care professionals in hospitals and in the field.
       
          Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to
       Centura Health, Colorado Hospital Association, Colorado Nurses
       Association, and HealthONE.
       
       
       
       
       
       ____________________________  ____________________________
       Brandon C. Shaffer               Terrance D. Carroll
       PRESIDENT OF                    SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
       THE SENATE                        OF REPRESENTATIVES
       
       
       
       
       
       
       ____________________________  ____________________________
       Karen Goldman                         Marilyn Eddins
       SECRETARY OF                CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE
       THE SENATE                        OF REPRESENTATIVES