Updates: protecting home health workers; dealing with abortion violence

The need for security off hospital premises has been the focus of growing concern by health professionals in two areas--home healthcare and abortions. With the advent of managed care, hospital stays are growing shorter and shorter, and home healthcare is growing more popular. As a result, nurses and ancillary staff are finding themselves in diverse, sometimes risky, environments--from homeless shelters, to retirement centers, to homes and apartments, and sometimes to remote, rural locations where security can be a major issue. And while most abortions are performed in nonhospital-run clinics off premises, an estimated 6% of abortions are performed by hospitals. What abortion providers have learned about violence and the threat of violence should be noted by hospital security professionals.