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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 5, 2019

Contact: Gina Dennik-Champion, WNA Executive Director
gina@wisconsinnurses.org
(608)228-3300 (c)

WNA-supported legislation will provide criminal penalties for perpetrators who cause battery to Registered Nurses and other nursing personnel.

The State Senate voted on November 5, 2019 to support SB 163, which provides a Class H Felony, for individuals who cause bodily harm to a nurse, nursing personnel and healthcare providers that work in a hospital. This action provides another avenue of support for the 105,000 nurses and the over 60,000 certified nurse assistants in Wisconsin who experience this type of workplace violence.

“If nurses do not feel safe they cannot practice safely”, stated Linda Gobis, President of the Wisconsin Nurses Association. “Passage of SB 163 is an important part of a larger campaign of educating and empowering nurses to report workplace violence and hopefully avoid life threatening situations.”

According to the American Nurses Association one in four nurses are assaulted at work.

Data from the Wisconsin Nurses Association show that there is an increase in workplace violence against nurses in Wisconsin.

WNA is appreciative of the leadership of Senator Dale Kooyenga and State Representative Gae Magnafici in authoring Senate Bill 163 and its companion Assembly Bill 175.