Greene County Medical Center was recently recognized for having a safe workplace.

The medical center earned the first-ever Assured Partners and Iowa Hospital Association ServiShare Service Spotlight Safety Award. While the medical center has had a workplace violence safety policy for incidents between employees, but with the work by Safety and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Brandon Hayes and who leads the safety committee and workplace violence sub-committee, as well as being overseen by Interim Chief Nursing Officer Ann Erickson, now has a program for patients, visitors and vendors. The newer policy includes ways for staff to notify specific people if they need help de-escalating an individual.

Erickson says these programs are a critical component, especially in these times with increases in threats against healthcare workers, which are said to be five times more likely than for employees in all other industries, as reported federally.