Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., sponsor of the AHA-supported Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act, today participated in a roundtable discussion with Tower Health staff and others at Pottstown (Pa.) Hospital to learn more about the rise in violence and abuse against health care workers throughout the nation. The bipartisan legislation, also supported by the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania (HAP), would give health care workers the same legal protections against assault and intimidation that flight crews and airport workers have under federal law, and authorize $25 million in grants over 10 years to reduce violence and intimidation in hospitals. 
 
Jason Kleinman, AHA’s senior associate director of federal relations, participated in the discussion along with P. Sue Perrotty, president and CEO of Tower Health; Rich Newell, president and CEO of Pottstown and Phoenixville hospitals; Chris Chamberlain, vice president of emergency management for HAP; and Rosa Hickey, chief nursing officer for WellSpan Surgery and Rehabilitation Hospital.
 
Dean introduced the bill with Rep. Larry Bucshon, R-Ind., in June.

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