Arkansas Code Title 20. Public Health and Welfare § 20-9-105. Legislative findings--Notice of battery in second degree

(1) The healthcare needs of the citizens of Arkansas are served by over sixty-six thousand (66,000) licensed nurses in a wide array of clinical settings and levels of criticality;

(2) Both national and state data present an upward trend in violence and incivility against nurses and other healthcare professionals in clinical settings;

(3) On average, two (2) nurses are attacked every hour nationwide, with the Press Ganey National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators showing more than five thousand two hundred (5,200) nurses were attacked in the second quarter of 2022; and

(4) It is in the best interest of patients for healthcare professionals, including nurses, to be able to perform their duties in a safe and caring environment.

(1) At entrances to a healthcare facility, an emergency department, a clinic, or a long-term care facility that are used by patients and visitors; and

(2) In a patient waiting area of a healthcare facility, an emergency department, a clinic, or a long-term care facility.

(c)(1) The Arkansas Nurses Association shall provide the Department of Health a digital poster design that shall be used by a healthcare facility.

(2) The text of the digital poster described under subdivision (c)(1) of this section shall read: “We respect you. Please respect our staff. Attacking a healthcare worker is a FELONY*. *Arkansas Code Annotated § 5-13-202.”