New initiative protects healthcare workers & ensures patient safety

UHS announced its participation in the Respect and Heal Initiative, presenting a united front to create safer, more supportive workplaces for healthcare employees. This campaign unites healthcare leaders from across New York State to ensure all healthcare and clinical settings are rooted in mutual respect and healing.

Across the nation, healthcare employees have increasingly faced disruptive and violent incidents in hospital settings. For our workforce — who are dedicated to keeping people safe and healthy — this trend is especially concerning.

UHS is taking action to curb these incidents to protect employee and patient safety and ensure hospitals and clinical spaces remain places of care and healing. This partnership underscores UHS’ deep commitment to protecting the safety of all frontline healthcare employees and the patients they care for. UHS proudly stands alongside fellow healthcare systems, law enforcement agencies and public policy experts in working to eliminate incidents of harassment and violence in healthcare settings.

“Healthcare workers provide exceptional care to patients each day,” said John M. Carrigg, president and chief executive officer, UHS. “We believe our most important job is to protect the safety and security of our staff members. UHS is proud to stand with Respect and Heal as we continue making sure all healthcare settings are a place of healing and respect for employees, patients and visitors.”

To mark the launch of this initiative, UHS hosted a press conference, where they were joined by Broome County District Attorney F. Paul Battistiand representatives from state and local law enforcement agencies. This united front demonstrates a shared commitment to ensuring safety and accountability for healthcare workers in all settings.

The core platform of the Respect and Heal initiative includes the following commitments:

• We support shared expectations for respectful behavior at all our hospitals and clinic sites.
• We support zero tolerance of any threat to staff or patient safety.
• We support the strongest consequences for those who violate safety rules.
• We support time for internal committees to meet – cross institution – to share best practices so every organization, regardless of size, has access to ideas, messaging, tools and solutions.
• We support the extension of shared training and education to share ideas that effectively manage and de-escalate difficult situations.

In recent years, UHS instituted many practices and safety standards to support staff members and patients seeking care including security screenings, visitor and patient check-ins and protocols to support staff members. These steps put UHS at the forefront of employee and patient safety in our community. In coordination with local, county, state and federal officials and law enforcement agencies, UHS is building key partnerships to build an environment that prioritizes respect and healing.

“As healthcare leaders, we have a duty to protect our frontline staff members,” said Peggy Thomas, MSN, RN, CENP, vice president of nursing and chief nursing officer, UHS Hospitals. “The Respect and Heal campaign highlights leading practices and collaborative relationships to ensure we are developing measures that put safety at the core of everything we do.”

UHS is not alone in this initiative. Respect and Heal is a collaborative effort supported by several New York State hospitals; all committed to protecting our vital healthcare workforce by sharing best practices and safety standards across every location.

UHS will continue strengthening its protocols and standards to ensure respect and safety remains a top priority in all UHS facilities. Together with our community allies and the Respect and Health initiative, UHS remains committed to driving meaningful change to keep healthcare settings safe, respectful and a place of healing for all.

To learn more about UHS’ efforts and our security and visitor policies, click here.