On a sunny and humid day in June, members of the labor and management committee at Bronx Center for Rehabilitation and Healthcare transformed into actors and actresses to create video skits on workplace violence. Since 2014, Bronx Center’s labor and management committee have participated in the LMP’s Workplace Violence Collaborative.
In the first skit, a son becomes angry due to how a staff member is treating his mother, yelling and attempting to attack the staff member. Another skit shows staff members getting into an altercation during a break. The video skits will be used as a teaching tool for staff and displayed in the cafeteria.
The Workplace Violence Collaborative has provided staff from six New York City nursing homes with a variety of workshops on ways to reduce incidences of workplace violence. “Through LMP conferences, we received tips to help us build a better working relationship with management. Now, we know what is going on with the management side and they know what is going on with the labor side,” said Certified Nursing Assistant Terrance McLean.
Since the launch of the collaborative, Bronx Center created workplace violence active shooter policies and procedures. Currently, they are designing a communications plan to inform all staff about the new policies. The team is also interested in designing a curriculum that can be used to train staff on workplace violence procedures.
According to Assistant Director of Nursing Glenford Brown, being a part of the collaborative has been very rewarding. “We are grateful to the LMP for giving us this opportunity to actually look at our systems and make necessary changes and additions,” he said. “The team here at Bronx Center is very cohesive between labor and management. I think we have a good working relationship. It is now easier for us to come together as a unit and look at problems that we have or areas of opportunities.”