A federal investigation has found, for the third time in five years, that the operator of multiple psychiatric and rehabilitation facilities has failed to protect its workers from violent patient attacks. This includes an incident where an employee suffered serious injuries at a Melbourne location operated by Circles of Care Inc.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) began investigating the incident, which occurred on Nov. 7, 2023. Circles of Care Inc. reported the worker's hospitalization two days after a patient used a metal hole punch to strike a mental health technician in the head, face, hands, and arms at a nurse’s workstation. A second employee suffered a hand laceration while assisting in restraining the patient.
OSHA cited Circles of Care with a repeat violation for failing to provide a workplace free of recognized safety and health hazards — such as workplace violence — at its Sheridan West Unit at 400 E. Sheridan Road. The agency found that Circles of Care did not provide sufficient controls to prevent acts of aggression towards professional staff from escalating. OSHA also issued a citation for another-than-serious violation due to the company's failure to report an employee’s work-related hospitalization within 24 hours as required by law.
Circles of Care Inc. now faces $101,397 in proposed OSHA penalties for these violations.
This incident follows OSHA investigations into two other serious incidents in 2020 at the company’s facility on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Melbourne: one involved the fatal shooting of a counselor by a former Circles of Care patient in December, and another alleged assault.
“Circles of Care’s reluctance to protect its employees from the recognized danger of patient assault is shocking," said OSHA Area Office Director Erin Sanchez in Orlando, Florida. "These attacks often occur suddenly and swiftly, causing serious and even fatal harm to workers while leaving their co-workers traumatized. Workplace violence remains a real threat that healthcare employers and employees cannot underestimate. Industry employers like Circles of Care must prepare and train employees properly, practice emergency response actions to combat these incidents, and ensure their employees are able to end their shifts safely.”
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate the rate of nonfatal assaults on hospital workers at 8.3 per 10,000 workers, significantly higher than the rate of 2.0 per 10,000 workers in all private sector industries.
Circles of Care Inc., based in Melbourne, operates ten facilities including four outpatient locations. The company provides behavioral health, substance abuse disorder, and other healthcare services with a workforce of about 480 employees statewide.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of their citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
