The Joint Commission recently released updates to their standards for workplace violence prevention. These best practices provide guidance for hospitals to ensure they are compliant with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and other agencies and authorities critical to daily operations.  

View the detailed standards from the Joint Commission here. In this blog, we'll focus on one of the four elements of performance the Joint Commission has outlined—providing sustainable solutions to help ensure hospitals and health care facilities are achieving the safest environments possible. 

Element of Performance: Leadership (LD.03.01.01) 

From the Joint Commission:

“The hospital has a workplace violence prevention program led by a designated individual and developed by a multidisciplinary team.” 

More specifically, the multidisciplinary team’s responsibilities include: 

  • Policies and procedures to prevent and respond to workplace violence 
  • A process to report incidents in order to analyze events and trends 
  • A process for follow up and support to victims and witnesses affected by workplace violence, including trauma and psychological counseling, if necessary 
  • Reporting of workplace violence incidents to the governing body 

Why is this important and how do you uphold this standard in your facility? Let’s break down recommendations in LD.03.01.01 and review how training and resources from CPI help you achieve compliance. 

Policies and Procedures to Prevent and Respond to Workplace Violence 

As part of a comprehensive violence prevention initiative, CPI recommends that organizations adopt policies and procedures that reflect the philosophy and strategies taught in our Nonviolent Crisis Intervention®, 2nd Edition training.

Our Checklist for Writing Policies and Procedures eBook provides an in-depth look at the components that are essential to your organization’s crisis intervention policies. Click here to download your free copy and learn how to determine policy rationale and philosophy, setting standards for crisis intervention training, and how to define procedures for documenting critical incidents. 

A Process to Report Incidents and Support Victims and Witnesses 

CPI Nonviolent Crisis Intervention®, 2nd Edition Training provides a debriefing model to provide follow-up support. This COPING ModelSM for debriefing outlines a process for reviewing and investigating the incident for staff. It also prompts improvement and prevention strategies (or strategies to improve interventions and prevent crisis recurrences).

Reporting of Workplace Violence Incidents to the Governing Body 

Documenting workplace violence incidents is an important step in processing those events. It can demonstrate to your staff that your policies and procedures are working, giving them greater confidence in your commitment to workplace safety. It can also help you uncover areas where your policies and procedures may still need improvement, and provide you with a road map to getting where you want to be. 

But just as important is the simple fact that governing bodies like OSHA and CMS require you to report incidents to maintain accreditations that impact on your ability to be reimbursed for services through Medicare and Medicaid.

A Risk Assessment from CPI 

Is your facility upholding these Joint Commission best practices? Schedule a free risk assessment with a CPI representative, to review the current policies you have in place, discuss the areas in which challenges are arising, and identify the appropriate steps to ensure you meet the Joint Commission’s requirements by January 1, 2022.

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