Residents Lobby Statehouse to Help Prevent Violence in Hospitals

On April 15, 2009, CIR leaders Dr. Sam Kalioundji (Internal Medicine, LAC+USC) and Dr. Medell Briggs-Malonson (Emergency Medicine, Harbor-UCLA), went to Sacramento to lobby the Health Committee of the State Assembly to support legislation addressing workplace violence and safety in hospitals.

The bill, AB 1083, enhances an old piece of safety legislation from the early 1990s. AB 1083, authored by Assemblymember John A. Perez, requires hospitals to make their safety plans available to employees, calls for employees to be included in the plans’ creation, and mandates an annual assessment of the safety plan.

Residents teamed up with SEIU 121RN nurses to lobby the 19 members of the Assembly's Health Committee, and shared their stories of workplace violence and statistics gathered from a CA-wide survey taken just last month by CIR and 121RN members. Of more than 300 residents surveyed across California, 50 percent had witnessed violence, and about a third had experienced violence in the workplace themselves.  

 
Dr. Kalioundji and Dr. Briggs-Malonson highlighted the need to update hospital safety plans, as they both work in LA County facilities that currently have plans, but workplace violence is still experienced by employees daily. They shared their own personal stories and concern for the safety of other employees and patients. Assembly members Hector de la Torre and Bonnie Lowenthal promised to support AB1083 after meeting with the residents and nurses.