COLUMBUS, Ohio –Â As promised, a Cincinnati lawmaker has introduced a bill that would increase the punishment for assaulting a nurse in the workplace.
House Bill 450 calls for the punishment for assaulting a nurse to be ratcheted up to a fourth-degree felony, according to Rep. Denise Driehaus, D-Cincinnati, one of the bill’s two sponsors.
Fourth-degree felonies are punishable by prison terms between six and 18 months, and a fine up to $5,000. Typically, assault is treated as a first-degree misdemeanor, which calls for punishment of up to six months in jail and a fine up to $1,000, Driehaus said.
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The bill quickly drew praise from the 8,800-member Ohio Nursing Association, which last year called the proposal its highest legislative priority. “ONA has long advocated for legislation to protect nurses from violence in the workplace and we are proud to support House Bill 450 as a key part of ONA’s overall workplace-violence-prevention initiative,” said Elise Geig, the group’s director of health policy.
Driehaus said the bill could help with recruiting newcomers into the nursing profession, which is facing a well-chronicled shortage that’s expected to grow worse in coming years. The bill has not yet been assigned to a House committee, she said.
A 2004 study in the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing called workplace violence, “one of the most complex and dangerous occupational hazards facing nurses.” The study said the problem stems in part from a culture in the health industry that is “resistant to the notion” that providers are at-risk for violence at the hands of patients.
In recent years, Ohio has passed similar legislation that imposes stiffer penalties for assaulting police officers, fire fighters and emergency services workers.
