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In light of an uptick in violent crime against hospital employees, hospitals nationwide are experimenting with various initiatives aimed at enhancing safety for workers, HealthLeaders reports. According to the Boston Globe, there were three separate violent attacks at Massachusetts hospitals last week, including an alleged attempted rape of an employee at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), a stabbing in the waiting room at Boston Medical Center, and a shooting of a psychiatric patient who allegedly stabbed a psychiatrist at a medical office building owned by MGH. According to the director of security at Baystate Health in Springfield, Mass., facilities have difficulty planning for the unique circumstances seen in each of the cases. However, a safety consultant suggests that hospitals may benefit from assessing whether their facilities face similar risks. Cape Fear Valley Health System in Fayetteville, N.C., for example, established a security threat assessment team made up of representatives from the human resources, safety, security, employee assistance and risk management departments to provide action plans for employees who feel threatened by a domestic partner, patient or coworker. The team can meet with 20 minutes' notice and aims to have a plan in place within 60 minutes of notification. St. Joseph's Hospital in Marshfield, Wis., meanwhile, has developed an "active shooter policy" that immediately locks down the facility if an individual brandishes a weapon. Hospital employees, including security guards, refrain from confronting the armed individual, and are instead encouraged to lock themselves in rooms until the danger has passed. Similarly, Summa Health System in Akron, Ohio, is launching an active shooter policy that will involve special training for employees in high-risk areas, such as the emergency department. The effort will emphasize that employees in a violent situation not risk harm, to themselves or others, maintain eye contact with the assailant, follow the assailant's instructions, not attempt to grab the weapon, and wait for assistance from security or law enforcement. In addition to hospital initiatives, the facilities manager at St. Joseph's adds that health facilities may benefit from speaking to law enforcement authorities to develop realistic security measures, which in many cases "won't deter violence" but will "become response goals" (Wallask, Health Leaders, 10/29/09; Abel/Cramer, Boston Globe, 10/28/09 [registration required]; Stickgold, Boston Globe, 10/26/09 [registration required]; Saltzman/Ellement, Boston Globe, 10/24/09 [registration required]).