Advocacy Updates
What We Are Watching at the Ohio Statehouse
Ohio ACEP is following a number of legislative issues related to the practice of emergency care in the state of Ohio.
Healthcare Workplace Safety Bill Introduced!
Ohio ACEP is excited to be working with bipartisan lawmakers Andrea White and Rachel Baker on legislation to address workplace safety for healthcare providers. On March 20, 2024, they officially introduced House Bill 452. The legislation does the following:
- Requires hospitals to establish security plans for preventing workplace violence and managing aggressive behaviors. Healthcare workers who provide direct patient care will be part of the teams developing the plans. The plan must be based on a security risk assessment that specifically looks at high-risk areas including the emergency departments.
- Requires at least one employee trained in de-escalation be present at all times in the emergency department. The security plan will also address whether the emergency department needs a trained security/law enforcement officer on duty, and what training those personnel shall have.
- Requires hospitals to establish a workplace violence incident reporting system. This system will document, track and analyze reporting data to inform improvements to workplace safety.
- Require a survey of higher education programs to see if they are teaching future healthcare providers about de-escalation, conflict management and risk identification and assessment.
Ohio ACEP looks forward to working in support of this important legislation.
Primary Election Result
Ohioans went to the polls on March 19th for a primary election considering races for the state legislature, US Senate, US Congress, and Ohio Supreme Court. Overall turnout was very low with only about 20% of the electorate turning out to cast their ballots.
Races for the Ohio House on the Republican side drew a lot of attention as numerous incumbents saw challenges from within their own party. This can certainly be tied back to the 2023 vote for Speaker when 22 Republicans joined all House Democrats to elect Speaker Jason Stephens over Derek Merrin. These members, dubbed the “Blue 22”, ran without the endorsement of the Ohio Republican Party but did have the benefit of incumbency and, in most cases, a sizable fundraising advantage. We did see several incumbents upset by challengers. Those representatives not prevailing in their primaries were: Sara Carruthers (R), Jon Cross (R), Elliot Forhan (D), Brett Hillyer (R), and Gail Pavliga (R).
With the Presidential primary drawing little fanfare in Ohio, the spotlight was on the Republican Primary to nominate the candidate to challenge Senator Sherrod Brown. Bernie Moreno earned the backing of President Trump and Ohio’s Republican US Senator JD Vance. Senator Matt Dolan earned high-profile endorsements from Governor Mike DeWine and former US Senator Rob Portman. Secretary of State Frank LaRose ran with the endorsement of Congressman Mike Turner and was the only candidate who had previously won a statewide election. It was Moreno that came out on top and will face off against Senator Brown in November in what is expected to be one of the most closely watched races in the country.
Physicians in the ED
Ohio ACEP is working to have legislation proactively introduced to codify the expectation that a physician is always in an emergency department. We have heard that hospitals in other states are forgoing having a physician on duty at all times and instead are “on-call”. This is an unacceptable standard of care, and patients expect physicians in the emergency department. We hope Ohio soon joins other states in passing legislation to ensure this coverage.
OD Reporting Rule Finalized
An Ohio Department of Health rule requiring that non-fatal overdoses in the emergency department be reported has been finalized. According to a release from Governor DeWine’s office: "The purpose of this new rule is to improve the coordination of care for individuals who have previously experienced a drug overdose," RecoveryOhio Director Aimee Shadwick said. "Studies show an elevated risk of death from overdose in individuals who had recently reported a non-fatal overdose. Adding this new reporting feature will provide healthcare professionals with additional tools available in real time."
During the comment period on this rule, Ohio ACEP confirmed that hospitals who utilize Clinisync will not have to create a new system or reporting mechanism.
Want to Learn More?
If you’re interested in viewing the status of all of the bills Ohio ACEP is tracking, you can find that here.