From left to right: Mark Boucot, President & CEO of Garrett Regional Medical Center and Potomac Valley Hospital; Rachel Culpepper, DNP, RN, general medicine service line director at Indiana University Health West Hospital; and James Phillips, M.D., an emergency room physician in Washington, D.C. and chair of disaster medicine at the American College of Emergency Physicians.
At a Capitol Hill briefing on July 31, President & CEO Mark Boucot of Garrett Regional Medical Center (GRMC) and Potomac Valley Hospital joined hospital and healthcare leaders as they shared strategies and stories highlighting the importance of passing the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees Act (H.R. 2584/S. 2768), bipartisan legislation that would provide federal protections against violence to hospital workers.
The panel featured Boucot, Rachel Culpepper, DNP, RN, general medicine service line director at Indiana University Health West Hospital in Avon, Ind.; James Phillips, M.D., an emergency room physician in Washington, D.C. and chair of disaster medicine at the American College of Emergency Physicians; and Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., author of the Senate bill.
The SAVE Act would help protect healthcare workers from violence in the workplace, alleviate workforce challenges, and sustain quality patient care. The American Hospital Association (AHA) supported legislation that would provide federal protections from violence for healthcare workers similar to those that apply to aircraft and airport workers.
“We are working with our teams at both Garrett Regional Medical Center and Potomac Valley Hospital to prevent and respond to workplace violence,” remarked Boucot. “We are establishing a workplace violence task force at both hospitals to continue to educate people that violence shouldn’t be an acceptable part of the work that we do. Sometimes it’s us standing up and saying, ‘this isn’t OK’ that makes a change.”
Just last month, Boucot was honored with the American Hospital Association Grassroots Champion Award for Maryland at the Maryland Hospital Association’s Annual Reception. The AHA noted his commitment to improving advocacy for the SAVE Act.
In presenting him the esteemed award, the AHA noted Boucot’s tireless advocacy for national legislation making it a felony to attack healthcare workers on the job. In January he traveled to Washington, DC, to testify at a briefing on Capitol Hill regarding the SAVE Act, cohosted by the AHA and the American College of Emergency Physicians.
The American Hospital Association represents nearly 5,000 hospitals and healthcare systems as well as 43,000 individual members who work in the healthcare industry.
AHA is active in addressing national health policy development and legislative and regulatory issues. It also monitors judicial matters that may impact healthcare.
Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for healthcare leaders and is a source of information on healthcare issues and trends.
