April is National Workplace Violence Prevention Month, and 1199SEIU members in Maryland are keeping up their advocacy for a new law to protect patients and healthcare workers.Kim Perkins (center) is an 1199SEIU activist and RN who has seen more than her fair share of violence in the busy DC-area Emergency Department where she works. She and other caregivers from hospitals and long-term care facilities across the state testified this year in support of the Maryland Safe Care Act.“Testifying alongside my peers and sharing our experiences made me even more convinced of how important it is to address healthcare workplace violence,” explained Perkins.The Maryland Safe Care Initiative (MSCI), led by 1199SEIU, is working to give employees and management the tools needed to decrease workplace violence. Legislation supported by MSCI would hold facilities accountable for reporting incidences and formulating a joint plan of action to avoid further violence.The Maryland Safe Care Act would cost the state almost nothing to implement and has four pillars, all of which are promoted as best practices by OSHA: ■ An annual comprehensive violence risk-assessment and regular record keeping, ■ Workplace violence prevention committees, ■ Annual violence prevention training and education, ■ A post-incident response system.Maryland Still Needs the Safe Care Act Unfortunately, the Maryland Safe Care Act didn’t move out of committee this year. Yet caregivers are undeterred; they will continue to build awareness of the problem and gather support for the bill.In 2010, healthcare and social assistance workers made up just 16% of Maryland’s workforce but accounted for 62% of workplace violence incidents that resulted in at least one day away from work. The statistics show what we know to be true as healthcare workers: that caregivers are too often placed in harm’s way, and something must be done about it.- See more at: http://www.1199seiu.org/1199ers_take_a_stand_for_safe_workplaces_in_maryland#sthash.s9TZcXH0.dpuf