The data comes from investigative reporting by local Seattle public radio station KUOQ-FM, which found healthcare workers in Washington experiences six times more violence than the state average. According to the news report, healthcare workers in emergency rooms and psychiatric wards experience even more violence than the general healthcare worker population.
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The most violent workplace in Washington is Western State Hospital, the psychiatric facility where criminal defendants are taken after they are deemed incompetent to stand trial.
Various hospitals have responded to the violence by requiring all individuals to pass through a metal detector in order to go into the hospital emergency department. Other hospitals have trained hospital staff members to calm down agitated individuals or changed the interior design for a more calming effect.
Some healthcare experts worry that lower funding to safety net hospitals could result in those hospitals being more vulnerable to violence, according to the news report.
Read the news report about healthcare environment safety in Washington.
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