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LTU, partners launching Healthcare Violence Reduction Center

Health Sciences
August 5, 2024

SOUTHFIELD—Workplace violence in the healthcare industry has been on the rise for more than a decade. According to studies, more than 50 nurses a day are attacked in the United States, 40% of healthcare workers say they have experienced workplace violence in the past two years, and 85% of emergency room physicians say that workplace violence has increased over the last five years. And the workplace violence rate in Michigan hospitals is at an all-time high since the Michigan Health & Hospital Association (MHA) Keystone Center Workplace Safety Collaborative started collecting data in 2017.

Now, Lawrence Technological University and healthcare partners have created the LTU Healthcare Violence Reduction Center. Its mission is to empower healthcare providers with innovative, research-based solutions that effectively reduce workplace violence, ensuring the safety and well-being of both staff and patients. The center will be housed within LTU’s College of Health Sciences but will be interdisciplinary in nature.

“A comprehensive approach to healthcare education includes not just teaching, but research and scholarship that creates new knowledge—in this case, knowledge that will improve the safety of patients and providers,” said Mary Schutten, dean of the LTU College of Health Sciences. “We look forward to conducting this research with our healthcare partners.”

The center’s membership will propose research topics to be conducted by LTU faculty, who are experts in modeling, simulation, health education, biotechnology, healthcare management, robotics, cybersecurity, and cognitive psychology—all topics related to making workplaces safer.

“Establishing this center represents yet another step in increasing the breadth and depth of LTU’s programs in healthcare,” LTU President Tarek Sobh said. “Our faculty experts will be working in partnership with healthcare providers, doing everything we can to make healthcare settings safer for both patients and staff.”

Funding for the new center comes in part from the MHA Keystone Center.

“Protecting our healthcare workers is a top priority for hospitals,” said MHA Keystone Center Executive Director Sarah Scranton. “Our support for this center contributes to public policy solutions and increased security measures being implemented by lawmakers and hospitals to reduce rates of violence.”

The center has also received a $70,000, two-year grant from the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan.

Leading the center will be founding director Stacey Frankovich, a veteran nonprofit and economic development executive. Frankovich was most recently director of the MedHealth life sciences initiative of TechTown, Wayne State University’s technology-focused business accelerator. Earlier, she worked for Oakland University’s Macomb-OU Incubator and was director of the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Macomb Community College. She earned a Master of Science in Administration degree from Central Michigan University.

“Every day, dedicated healthcare providers face violence while performing their essential duties,” Frankovich said. “The center’s goal is to reduce healthcare workplace violence by providing research-driven solutions that allow health professionals to focus on patient care without fear. By collaborating with industry partners and leveraging LTU’s cutting-edge research and innovative technologies, we can create safer healthcare environments.”

Leading the LTU faculty participating in the center will be Eric Meyer, associate professor of biomedical engineering and director of LTU’s Biomechanics Laboratory, and Brittany Murphy, assistant professor in LTU’s Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program.

“The healthcare field has seen a drastic increase in violence,” Murphy said. “As a physician assistant with 11 years of experience, I have unfortunately witnessed healthcare violence firsthand in the workplace. I am grateful for the opportunity to create a safer work environment and support my colleagues in healthcare. The center will collaborate with healthcare organizations to identify the most critical areas of safety weakness for healthcare providers. It will conduct research and develop innovative technologies to create safer work environments for healthcare providers.”

Added Meyer: “The excellent academic and technological experts that we have at LTU are driven by our founding motto, ‘Theory and Practice.’ We think the center’s new partnerships will allow broader understanding and meaningful solutions to important issues facing healthcare workers.”

For further information on the center and its research, and more information on membership and research participation, contact Frankovich at sfrankovi@ltu.edu or visit the center’s website, https://www.ltu.edu/health-sciences/hvrc.

The MHA Keystone Center was founded in 2003. Over the years, the nonprofit organization has helped create an overall culture shift in Michigan hospitals by providing its member hospitals with educational opportunities to share evidence-based best practices to improve patient safety and quality and reduce healthcare costs and harm. The center’s efforts have gained global recognition and been adopted in hospitals and health systems around the world. To date, the center has been funded by MHA member hospitals, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services. For more information, visit www.mhakeystonecenter.org

The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is a full-service philanthropic organization leading the way to positive change in our region. As a permanent community endowment built by gifts from thousands of individuals and organizations, the foundation supports a wide variety of activities, benefiting education, arts and culture, health, human service,s community development, and civic affairs. Since its inception, the foundation has distributed more than $1.1 billion through more than 74,000 grants to nonprofit organizations throughout Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, St. Clair and Livingston counties. For more information, visit www.cfsem.org.

Lawrence Technological University is one of only 13 independent, technological, comprehensive doctoral universities in the United States. Located in Southfield, Mich., LTU was founded in 1932 and offers more than 100 programs through its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Business and Information Technology, Engineering, and Health Sciences, as well as Specs@LTU as part of its growing Center for Professional Development. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 11 percent of universities for alumni salaries. Forbes and The Wall Street Journal rank LTU among the nation’s top 10 percent. U.S. News and World Report list it in the top tier of the best Midwest colleges. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.

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Use Your Cell Phone as a Document Camera in Zoom

  • What you will need to have and do
  • Download the mobile Zoom app (either App Store or Google Play)
  • Have your phone plugged in
  • Set up video stand phone holder

From Computer

Log in and start your Zoom session with participants

From Phone

  • Start the Zoom session on your phone app (suggest setting your phone to “Do not disturb” since your phone screen will be seen in Zoom)
  • Type in the Meeting ID and Join
  • Do not use phone audio option to avoid feedback
  • Select “share content” and “screen” to share your cell phone’s screen in your Zoom session
  • Select “start broadcast” from Zoom app. The home screen of your cell phone is now being shared with your participants.

To use your cell phone as a makeshift document camera

  • Open (swipe to switch apps) and select the camera app on your phone
  • Start in photo mode and aim the camera at whatever materials you would like to share
  • This is where you will have to position what you want to share to get the best view – but you will see ‘how you are doing’ in the main Zoom session.