March 19, 1998

At the March 17 communications meeting, Joseph C. Good Jr., general counsel for MUSC, and Paul Taylor, director of the Internal Auditor Department, spoke to the management team on the issue of complying with the State Ethics Governmental Accountability and Campaign Reform Act of 1991. This law was enacted to protect taxpayers from misuse of funds, and as state employees, Medical Center employees must abide by it.

State employees should not accept anything from a vendor that may influence purchase decisions or supplement their salaries. In addition, all but incidental use (such as using the phone to make a personal call) of state property for personal reasons is prohibited by state law. MUSC policy also is quite clear on the subject. Under our policy, employees cannot accept gratuities from vendors. Everyone should be aware of the state law and Medical Center policy and use good judgement not to engage in any activity that appears to be a conflict of interest. Mr. Good added that anyone needing clarification on the law for a specific situation may contact his office.

W. Stuart Smith Interim Vice President for Clinical Operations Interim CEO, MUSC Medical Center

Announcements

• Hal Currey, associate dean for operations, Dean’s Office, College of Medicine, announced that festivities celebrating the opening of MUSC Rutledge Tower are scheduled for July 22. Activities will include a grand opening ceremony and an open house with tours of the facilities. The tentative date clinics will be open for business (barring construction delays) is Aug. 3.
• Fred Miles, manager of Hospital Maintenance, announced that upgrades to university (outside the Medical Center) elevators are scheduled to begin in mid-April. The first elevators to receive an upgrade are those in the Clinical Sciences Building.

Recognition

Mary Anderson, Pam Cipriano, Carolyn Cuttino and Carolyn Viall were nominated for and selected to receive the South Carolina League for Nursing’s award of excellence. The award will be presented March 20 in Columbia.

Workplace Violence

• Janet Nixon from the State Department of Labor’s Office of OSHA Voluntary Programs spoke to the management team March 17 on the problem of violence in the workplace. Nixon explained that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration first became involved in the issue after being petitioned by a group of nurses in California who were concerned about the increasing number of cases of violence against health care workers.
• The problem is serious. In the United States, 15 people are murdered in the workplace each week and 2.2 million people are attacked each year. In South Carolina, 26 percent of fatalities that take place in the workplace are the result of violent behavior, and 81 percent of the time, guns are used in the attack.
• Nixon said that violence is defined as any threatening or abusive behavior. She said there are three types of threats. Direct, when there is little doubt of a person’s violent intentions.
• Conditional, often seen in an employee/employer conflict, when someone may threaten to take some action if certain demands are not met.
• Veiled, when victims are left wondering if they were actually threatened. These are the least likely to be reported, yet may signal that trouble is coming.
• There are many risk factors for violence at workplaces, including hospitals: handguns and other weapons can be concealed and brought into the buildings; low staffing combined with a high volume of patients may cause staff members to become less aware of what’s going on around them; staff members may often find themselves in an isolated area; and there is a general lack of training for dealing with workplace violence.
• The triggers that may cause someone to commit an act of violence include: joblessness; problems on the job; low self-esteem or feelings of personal failure; problems in personal life; difficulty relating to others. Take it as a warning when a person is a loner, shows behavior changes, has a fascination with weapons, has conflicts with others, is disgruntled or blames others for problems.
• Nixon gave some tips on how to communicate with a hostile person: observe him closely; control your speech and body language (don’t raise your voice); don’t give him an audience for a hostile display; state the consequences of his threatened action; and, make it clear there is “zero tolerance” of violent or threatening behavior. In a hostile situation, don’t try to be a hero. Also, avoid turning your back on the person, and avoid becoming trapped in your office or behind equipment. Nixon advised that employees avoid getting in over their heads in a potentially dangerous situation. Keep asking yourself if you can handle the situation or if you need help.
• Nixon recommends evaluating your workplace with safety in mind. Where are weaknesses? Who is vulnerable? What kind of training is needed? Other actions that can be taken include installing panic-button alarms in key areas or setting up a system of using code words to alert co-workers of a problem.
• Make a note of where the emergency call boxes are on campus, and use the buddy system when going between buildings or to your vehicle if you feel unsafe. You also can call Public Safety for an escort at any time, day or night.
• Nixon said the two most important things we can do at MUSC are to report every incident of violence and every incident of threatened violence, regardless of whether it was thought to be serious, and to continually evaluate our workplace and find ways to increase safety.