By Colneth Smiley Jr.
Thursday, April 1, 2010 –
They care. They converged. They conquered.
Bay State lawmakers passed legislation to stiffen penalties for those who assault health-care workers as more than 250 nurses – many of whom said they are victims of workplace violence – rallied at the State House yesterday to push for the bill’s passage.
“Being assaulted is not acceptable, and health-care workers need to be protected as they do their jobs,” said Donna Kelly-Williams, president of the Massachusetts Nurses Association.
Recent studies show that health-care workers are confronted with on-the-job violence as often as police officers and prison guards. The bill will create programs to prevent workplace violence and penalize perpetrators effectively.
“This is an important first step in our effort to make health-care settings safer for nurses and for patients,” Kelly-Williams said.
