Federal investigators have determined that the Northern Arizona VA Healthcare System in Prescott has again failed to protect its healthcare workers from violent patients. This marks the second such finding in four years.
In December 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) launched an investigation into claims that employees at the Bob Stump VA Medical Center were subjected to violence by unit residents. Incidents reported included kicking, biting, striking, punching, slapping, and sexual harassment of nurses, nursing assistants, and housekeeping staff.
Federal regulations mandate that employers provide a workplace free from hazards likely to cause serious physical harm or worse. Under Executive Order 12196, federal agencies must adhere to the same safety standards as private sector employers covered under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970. While federal agencies are generally exempt from OSHA violations and penalties, they are issued notices of unsafe conditions and required to demonstrate hazard abatement. Had this facility been a private sector employer, it could have faced penalties up to $161,323.
“Healthcare industry workers encounter workplace violence up to four times more often than people employed in private industry,” said OSHA Area Director Zachary Barnett in Phoenix. “The failure of the Bob Stump VA Medical Center to prevent the same dangers that existed in 2019 is troubling. The facility’s management must take immediate action to better protect its employees from workplace violence before someone is seriously hurt or even killed in an incident that they could have prevented.”
According to estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), hospital workers experience non-fatal workplace assaults at a rate of 8.3 per 10,000 workers—significantly higher than the rate of 2.0 per 10,000 workers for all private sector industries.
Further information on worker safety in hospitals can be found through resources like "Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers."
