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Last fall, Joyce Grayson, a visiting nurse working for Elara Caring, died at the hands of one of her patients. Grayson, a 63-year-old behavioral health nurse, walked into a halfway house for sex offenders in Willimantic, Connecticut to give medication to a resident. Police later found her body in the basement.
Her patient has been named the main suspect in her killing and was arrested in April on charges related to her death. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has charged her employer with exposing home healthcare workers to workplace violence. Elara Caring now faces $163,627 in penalties.
Workplace safety is every worker’s right
Elara Caring, based in Dallas, Texas, has over 200 branches in 17 states. They are considered one of the nation’s largest home-based care providers. Following OSHA’s investigation, Jordan Health Care Inc. and New England Home Care Inc., DBA as Elara Caring, were cited for a willful violation not protecting employees from the serious hazard of workplace violence.
Nurse were not given adequate protection from potentially aggressive patients, nor were they informed about the nature of their patients. According to one report, chaperones or police escorts were once available, but due to budget cuts, it was no longer a possibility.
Workplace violence for healthcare workers on the rise
According to an article from AP News, from 2011 to 2018, non-fatal violence against health care workers increased by over 60%. There are groups that have been pushing federal legislation for several years to require health care agencies to have comprehensive workplace violence prevention plans.
Elara Caring said it did have safeguards in place to protect workers, but the company cannot comment due to the ongoing investigation and medical privacy laws. Elara Caring told USA Today that the company would be disputing OSHA’s findings.
OSHA Area Director Charles D. McGrevy in Hartford, Connecticut said, “Elara Caring failed its legal duty to protect employees from workplace injury by not having effective measures in place to protect employees against a known hazard and it cost a worker her life.”
