From Analysis to Action: Strengthening Hospital Workplace Safety & Violence Prevention Strategies

Workplace violence (WPV) poses a significant challenge for healthcare organizations, as it can harm their employees and operations. Our Lady of the Lake experienced an increased number of WPV incidents in the first quarter of 2021, which prompted a multidisciplinary team to take action. The team's approach covered not only the prevention of WPV events, but also the response and recovery from them. 

Understand the significance of workplace violence (WPV) in healthcare settings: Learners will be able to identify the various forms of WPV, including verbal abuse, physical assault, and intimidation, and recognize the impact of WPV on the safety and well-being of healthcare providers and patients.

Analyze the key findings from a comprehensive WPV gap analysis: Learners will be able to evaluate the deficiencies in existing policies, training, reporting mechanisms, and environmental design that contribute to workplace violence, and understand the need for proactive measures to enhance workplace safety.

Develop and implement targeted action items to mitigate WPV risks: Learners will be able to design and apply strategies such as policy revision, comprehensive training programs, enhanced reporting systems, and environmental modifications to create a safer and more respectful workplace environment.

Authors

Heather Runnels DNP, NEA-BC currently serves as the chair for the Workplace Violence workgroup and is the VP of Patient Care Services for Our Lady of the Lake Ascension. Prior to her current role she spent 15 years as a senior director of nursing and has guided innovations such as upgrading 700 communication boards accross the health system, developing a process to identify, protect and provide care safely for patients at risk for suicide, a plan that has been recognized as a best practice by the Joint Commission, and reducing falls by 40%. Heather has also been named one of CHA's "Tomorrow's Leaders" in 2022.

Juan Guzman-Noguera was born and raised in Guatemala City. Once he graduated High School he went to LSU where he graduated with a degree in Industrial Engineering. He started his career in petrochemical warehousing and later transitioned to healthcare, working for Our Lady of the Lake Health, focusing on Materials Management. He later transitioned to the Performance Improvement where he has led projects such as Reducing Hospital Acquired Infections through Lean Methodologies, Security Optimization, Telemetry Value Stream Mapping, and the creation of a clinical support associate role. He is happy to support strategic improvements for Louisiana's largest academic medical center, working alongside leaders to provide the best possible healthcare for the community.

Thomas (Pokey) Anders CHSP is a Safety professional with over 25 years of experience, who has lead and implemented a culture of safety within our organization. His entire career has been centered around service, directing, and planning safety systems for both municipal and healthcare systems. Thomas is currently the Director over Security and Emergency Preparedness at Our Lady of the Lake Health, serving the Baton Rouge Market in Louisiana.

Susan Waguespack MSN, RN, CIC is the Regulatory Manager For Our Lady of the Lake Health and has previously served as Infection Control and Employee Health Coordinator, focusing on employee safety and risk management. Previous Roles include Director of Patient Support Services supporting the Quality and Risk Management Departments. She's a member of APIC since 1997; APIC River Region President Elect and President in 2012 and 2013.  Acknowledged by Baton Rouge District Nurses Association for Nursing Excellence May 2010; Nominated twice for Louisiana State Nursing Association, “Nurse of the Year” Award. Received the Franciscan Service Award, in 2015. Presenter at Transforming Research into Practice annual conferences and Poster Presenter at the 2016 APIC National Conference. Her current focus lies with Workplace Violence, reporting updates to ensure comprehensible and discernable data collection for analyzing trending events.

Coletta Barrett DNP, MHA, RN, FACHE, FAHA has more than 48 years of hospital clinical,health plan medical management, and executive leadership. She recently retired from her role as VP of Mission for Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. Currently Coletta holds the position of Emeritus Chairman of the Board for the Mayor's Healthy City Initiative in Baton Rouge Louisiana, and is tasked with enhancing the city's health outcome measures, leading an 84-member coalition of community stakeholders. Coletta received her DNP from Southeastern Louisiana University in 2024 and a Master of Health Administration from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in 1994.

Christopher Thomas is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at LSU Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC) in Baton Rouge.  Dr. Thomas graduated from John Carroll University and attended the Ohio State University College of Medicine and Public Health. He completed medical training at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. His expertise focuses on the implementation of novel sepsis diagnostics, reducing the harms of hospital immobility, and rapid performance improvements at scale. He is the Chief Quality Officer for Franciscan Missionaries of our Lady Health System and chairperson for the Catholic Health Association's Clinical Quality Affinity group.