CORTLAND, N.Y. — The Guthrie Clinic on Wednesday said it has joined the Respect and Heal campaign, an effort that seeks to protect health-care workers from workplace violence.
Launched by Upstate University Hospital in October 2023, Respect and Heal is a regional initiative to present a united front in support of frontline staff, including doctors and nurses; environmental and food-service workers; and all other members of the caregiving team, Guthrie said.
“We are all caregivers because each of us plays a role in providing the health care our patients deserve,” Dr. Edmund Sabanegh, president and CEO, The Guthrie Clinic, said in the health-care system’s announcement. “And in providing this care, we firmly believe each individual deserves as much protection as possible, regardless of their role.”
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Guthrie officials announced their involvement in the campaign during a Wednesday event outside Guthrie Cortland Medical Center in Cortland. Those attending the event included members of local law enforcement and dozens of caregivers.
The Guthrie Clinic, based in Sayre, Pennsylvania, includes its six hospitals and dozens of medical offices throughout its 10,000-square-mile territory.
In its announcement, Guthrie started by saying, “No one is immune to violence in the workplace, including the dedicated caregivers who work within our hospitals, medical clinics and offices. Health-care workers often find themselves in stressful situations, working to deliver immediate care for someone in need, regardless of the circumstance.”
The initiative is designed to keep hospitals and clinical spaces “safe places of healing.” Some of the campaign’s elements include support of zero tolerance of any threat to staff or patient safety at all its sites.
Guthrie also supports passage of federal legislation such as the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act which provide more penalties for individuals who “knowingly and intentionally” assault or intimidate hospital employees, and resources for hospitals to develop innovative workplace-safety programs.
The campaign also supports strengthened New York State legislation, similar to laws passed in states like New Jersey, that impose harsh criminal penalties on people who seriously injure health-care workers, as well as those who threaten, assault or intimidate health-care workers.
“So often, it’s health care workers who treat the victims of violence, which can make it easy to forget that those same people can also be the victims of violence in the workplace,” Jennifer Yartym, president of Guthrie Cortland Medical Center, said in the announcement. “Together we are united for a shared purpose of healing, respect and safety for our colleagues and our community.”
