SAINT PAUL, Minn. – In response to the persistently high rates of workplace violence experienced by health care and human services workers in Minnesota, Senator Liz Boldon (DFL-Rochester) presented two bills to provide resources to workplace safety today in the Health and Human Services Committee. The legislation, SF 2052 and SF 1489, is urgently needed to keep health care workers safe according to Sen. Boldon.
“Health care providers go to work every day to try and improve the lives of and care for Minnesotans, yet they experience over 70% of all reported workplace violence,” said Sen. Boldon. “This is a crisis that is contributing to the workforce shortage in this critical field and that is hurting thousands of Minnesotans every year. It is essential to the health of our entire state that we work towards a solution to this issue, and this legislation is an urgent first step.”
The legislation, SF 2052 and SF 1489, would provide resources for competitive grants for both the Department of Health and the Department of Human Services. These grants would be used for workplace safety improvements like infrastructure updates, implementation of new software to track safety incidences, and increased education and training opportunities such as those typically associated with health care-based violence intervention programs. The goal of this request is to allow organizations to invest in safety measures and protocols that take steps to increase safety for staff and patients.
At the conclusion of Sen. Boldon’s testimony, SF 2052 was laid over for possible inclusion in a future omnibus bill, and SF 1489 was referred to the Department of Human Services.
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