Page 6 - Work Force July-August 2023

Enough is enough:
Assault on worker leads to positive change
“We are having an impact. Change is noticeable. Staff is reaching out more. It is a changing atmosphere. At the end of the day,
we know we work in a dangerous job, but we should all be able to walk out the door at the end of the day the same way we came in.”
CSEA Capital District Psychiatric Center Local President Zakiya Rhymer, shown here outside her worksite during a break, led efforts to improve safety at the center following an assault on a co-worker.
ALBANY — In the early morning hours of Feb. 16, 2023, before her work shift was due to begin, CSEA Capital District Psychiatric Center (CDPC) Local President Zakiya Rhymer got a devastating call that became a catalyst for change.
Rhymer learned that Ronda Davidson, a secure care treatment aide at CDPC, was assaulted by a patient. Davidson suffered multiple cuts, a broken eye socket and was bleeding profusely from her head and face. She was taken to Albany Medical Center.
Rhymer soon received by text a photo of Davidson’s bloodied and swollen head.
“I just started crying,” said Rhymer. “I don’t know if I was crying from being sad or being angry, but I just sat there and cried.”
Few options for workers
Rhymer warned something like this could happen – again.
One week before Davidson was injured, Rhymer, in a meeting with CDPC management, pressed for stronger safety protocols to avoid another assault like the one on CDPC employee Darryl Best, who was severely injured as a result
of an assault by a CDPC patient in February 2022. He suffered a traumatic brain injury and likely won’t be able to return to work.
Direct care workers often have very complicated decisions to make instantaneously during incidents where their safety could be jeopardized. For instance, if a worker defends themselves against an assault by putting a patient in
a restraint. If that restraint isn't performed exactly to agency procedures and policy, members could face discipline. In many cases, those charges do not take into account that the individual being placed in a restraint does not cooperate with that restraint, causing potential policy violations.
If workers leave the side of a patient who requires a Constant Observation (CO) sit to help a co-worker or other patient under attack, they could be found in violation of policy. Because of this, many workers feel powerless to help
6 The Work Force July-August 2023