Here's how to prevent assaults on staff

ED personnel experience the majority of all hospital assaults, and these attacks can have long-term effects on morale and productivity. OSHA regulations require you to provide staff with a safe working environment. You should have a plan to address security personnel issues, responses to specific scenarios, restraint techniques, and violence prevention. Strategies include flagging violence-prone individuals, using patient liaisons in the waiting areas, and ensuring that ED security officers have been trained to work in hospitals.