Rising violence against hospital employees has led workers from multiple San Diego hospitals to create a task force to address the growing problem, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported July 23.
After witnessing the sharp increase in violence at healthcare facilities, CEO of San Diego-based Scripps Health Chris Van Gorder, a former law enforcement officer, came up with the idea of building a task force, which quickly received buy-in from other healthcare leaders across the region.
The task force, made up of members from each health system that owns a hospital in San Diego County as well as members from law enforcement agencies, held its first meeting in June, according to the Union-Tribune.
One goal of the task force is to strengthen communication mechanisms between other hospitals in the area while also looping in law enforcement as necessary.
San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan, who is also part of the newly established task force, said her office would assign a special prosecutor and investigators to handle these cases going forward.
The task force plans to focus on "asking local police departments to make visits and recommendations on how the physical security of workers and patients can be increased without violating rules and regulations," according to the Union-Tribune.