SCHA and Antum Risk Partner to Address Workplace Violence
The South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA) and Antum Risk are partnering to address workplace violence in South Carolina’s healthcare facilities. The South Carolina-based Antum Risk, which offers a host of risk management services, will allow SCHA members to use their data management system to monitor and track incidents of violence in the workplace. This will provide South Carolina’s hospitals and health systems with actionable data to implement strategies to advance workplace safety and prevent acts of violence.
Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics indicates that the problem has increased over time, rising from an incident rate of 6.4 per 10,000 employees in 2011 to 10.4 per 10,000 employees in 2018. Healthcare workers accounted for 73% of all nonfatal workplace injuries due to violence in 2018. More recent studies indicate that 44% of nurses reported experiencing workplace violence and 68% reported experiencing verbal abuse during the pandemic.
SCHA members have made strides in creating a culture of workplace safety, but a broad-based, universal data source for tracking and responding to violent incidents is needed to better understand the dangers facing healthcare workers. Through the partnership with Antum Risk, SCHA will be able to offer its members a data source that will facilitate targeted interventions, benchmarking, and statewide safety improvement efforts.
“We’ve known for a long time that workplace violence is a serious problem for our members, but as an industry we have often been unable to zero in on where we can make the greatest impact,” said Lara Hewitt, Vice President of Workforce and Member Engagement at SCHA. “Thanks to this partnership, our members can speak a common language around these challenges and work together to find innovative solutions to ensure a safer work environment.”
“Violence in the healthcare workplace is a reality and it’s important to understand the underlying issues that are creating an environment where hostility towards caregivers continues to occur. An industry report indicates that roughly two nursing personnel were assaulted every hour in the second quarter of 2022,” said Wendy Stephenson, Vice President of Risk Management for Antum Risk. “We are excited to partner with SCHA to help reduce harm towards the state’s hospital employees and create a safer environment for patients.”
The program will include a self-assessment that allows healthcare facilities to evaluate their current landscape of incidents and benchmark their data against other hospitals to better understand trends and best practices to reduce acts of violence.
“Hospital workers are exposed to unique risks every day that stem from the extraordinary work they do to save lives and serve patients,” Hewitt said. “‘Do no harm’ is not just an ethical duty to patients, but also to the healthcare heroes who are working to create a better state of health in South Carolina.”
Media Contact: Schipp Ames
Phone: 803.744.3543
Email: sames@scha.org
About Antum Risk
Originally founded in 1977 by South Carolina healthcare executives as a group workers’ compensation self-insurance pool, we are a leading provider of workers’ compensation coverage to the state’s healthcare industry. Antum Risk provides innovative solutions, serving as an alternative to the commercial insurance market. Our offerings include group programs for workers‘ compensation, professional and general liability, and medical stop-loss. With more than 40 years in the healthcare claims and risk management industry, Antum Risk also provides a variety of risk management consulting services.