Bill would protect health care workers

April 30, 2010

Individuals who assault health care workers would face two and a half years in jail and a $5,000 fine under a bill backed unanimously by the state House of Representatives.

Described by its supporters as an overdue protection, one chairman said the bill holds personal meaning for a House colleague, Rep. Jennifer Callahan, D-Sutton, a former nurse who suffered a severe assault on the job years ago.

“If it wasn’t for another worker … she may not be with us today,” said Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty, D-Chelsea, co-chair of the Judiciary Committee. O’Flaherty said that Callahan’s story was one of the many vivid, personal stories that helped convince the committee to support the bill.

The Massachusetts Medical Society and the Massachusetts Hospital Association had urged lawmakers to expand the bill to cover all members of “the health care team,” and the House approved that expansion.

1199SEIU, Massachusetts’s largest health care workers union, hailed the bill’s passage. Rep. Michael Rodrigues, D-Westport, the bill’s sponsor, said he’s confident it will reach the governor’s desk.

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