Massachusetts: Senate passes bill to protect nurses

The Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed legislation to stiffen the penalties against individuals who assault nurses and other health care workers. The House of Representatives passed the bill in March.

The vote follows years of advocacy by the Massachusetts Nurses Association and health care workers across the state. Massachusetts law already treats any assault on an emergency medical technician as a separate crime with its own set of penalties. S.B. 1753, sponsored by Sen. Michael Moore, D-Millbury, and H.B. 1696, sponsored by Rep. Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport, would extend those same protections to nurses.

A June 2008 study showed that workers in the health care sector are 16 times more likely to be confronted with violence on the job than any other service profession. In addition, a study by the Emergency Nurses Association found that more than half of emergency nurses reported experiencing physical violence on the job.

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Read more at the WORKERSCOMP Forum^TM homepage.

June 7, 2010

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