Highlights:
- Healthcare workers accounted for 73 percent of all nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses due to violence in 2018. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
- PunchAlert and RingCentral offer integrated emergency reporting from the RingCentral app and phones for all organizations, healthcare, and education providers.
- Improve security, streamline communications, and get location awareness through the RingCentral App and phones.
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Workplace violence in healthcare is an important public health issue and a growing concern. The healthcare and social service industries experienced the highest rates of injuries caused by workplace violence and are five times as likely to suffer a workplace violence injury than workers overall. The alarming workplace violence statistics for healthcare workers continue to grow despite increased awareness and legislation to address the problem.
How healthcare institutions can help protect others
Healthcare facilities are responsible for ensuring the safety and security of staff, patients, and visitors. According to the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN), there are multiple actions that can be taken by healthcare institutions to help protect staff, patients, and visitors. The PunchAlert for RingCentral integration can help facilitate the highlighted actions.
- Establish a clear and consistent reporting structure for workplace violence, with specific policies and procedures on how to report violent incidents to law enforcement.
- Ensure the presence of sufficient security systems, including alarms, emergency response, and available security personnel.
- Evaluate staffing and patient classification systems that could increase or reduce the risk of violence.
- Educate staff on how to recognize the potential for violence, how to employ de-escalation techniques, and how to seek assistance to prevent or respond to violence.
- Encourage employees to press charges against persons who assault healthcare workers and support staff who do. Many states have established laws with enhanced penalties for these offenses.
- Provide resources and support programs for employees to help them cope with violent incidents.
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What is PunchAlert for RingCentral?
PunchAlert for RingCentral makes it possible to report an emergency quickly to internal response teams or the closest 911 operator from any RingCentral app without losing critical time navigating between applications or screens. Therefore, users can communicate more efficiently and resolve incidents faster while creating a detailed record and report of the incident.
How can you manage emergencies through mobile devices?
PunchAlert for RingCentral users can tap into a number of features when dealing with an emergency. Here’s an overview:
- Immediate reporting: Report an emergency to responders or 911 with a single click or by dialing a dedicated extension.
- Responder chat: Responders can chat privately with the person who reported the emergency.
- Mass notifications: Send emergency updates to the entire organization or designated groups.
- Emergency plan distribution: Automatically send emergency plans to everyone’s phones.
- Real-time location capture inside geo-fences: View the emergency location and everyone’s whereabouts on the emergency map.
- Crowdsourced photos and videos: Post and receive emergency information from all users by text, voice recording, photo, and video.
Increase protection for healthcare workers
There are many ways to increase protection for healthcare workers. For those that are delivering critical care, support, and relief, providing the ability to immediately report their own potential emergency can allow them to feel safe to administer the requisite care. Get started today with PunchAlert for RingCentral.
Originally published May 04, 2022, updated May 03, 2022