Emergency Preparedness

Appendix H.15 – COMBATIVE

Kern Medical Emergency Preparedness

COMBATIVE PERSON (Code Gray) PURPOSE: Provide a safe environment for patients, staff and visitors. Establish a method for managing and de-escalating assaultive and/or aggressiv behavior. To provide guidance for staff confronted with assaultive or combative persons. To promote workplace security by addressing situations in which outsiders enter the workplace and engage in any level of violence that threatens employees or patient safety and to require reporting of such incidents. DEFINITION:  LEVEL I: ANXIETY - a noticeable change in behavior as a result of, or in reaction to, an event.  LEVEL II: VERBAL AGGRESSION- a testing stage which means the person is angry but does not necessarily mean an assault or violence is imminent.  LEVEL III: PHYSICAL AGGRESSION- Physical violence or the threat of imminent physical violence POLICY STATEMENT: It is the policy of Kern Medical to deal with aggressive/assaultive behavior at the earliest point possible in order to minimize the potential for assault and/or injury. In most cases, the appropriate response to escalating aggressive behavior is to immediately notify the Kern Medical Security Department as soon as aggressive behavior is exhibited or recognized. When staff is concerned about their own safety and the safety of others due to abusive or assaultive behavior, they may initiate a Code Gray . PROCEDURE:  Early Warning Signs  While each situation must be assessed individually, certain factors and behavior patterns offer early warning signs of potentially violent conduct. Staff should understand and recognize these common indicators:  Making a verbal threat to harm another individual or destroy property  Making menacing gestures  Throwing objects or other destruction of property  Intentional disregard for the safety of others  Expressing significant grudges against co-workers, organizations, or individuals.  Attempting to intimidate or harass other individuals  Behavior indicating that the individual is significantly out of touch with

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