The Senate Executive Departments and Administration Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 29, which implements recommendations from the Healthcare Workplace Safety Commission to improve reporting and transparency on workplace violence in health care facilities.

Senator Cindy Rosenwald, the bill’s sponsor, said the commission’s first report—compiled under a 2022 law—showed nearly 3,000 reported incidents of workplace violence in hospitals last fiscal year and 33 serious injuries. The bill would add Hampstead Hospital to the commission and require Hampstead and New Hampshire Hospital to report incidents in the same way as other acute-care hospitals. It would also require monthly reporting of incidents to the Department of Labor while leaving the commission’s aggregated annual reporting intact and public.

Ben Bradley of the New Hampshire Hospital Association said hospitals are active participants in the commission and support the recommendations; he told senators hospitals already collect incident data and that monthly reporting is largely consistent with current practice for many hospitals. The association said the changes will help the commission and hospitals develop prevention programs and policies.

Committee action: The committee voted the bill ought to pass and placed it on consent for the calendar. The New Hampshire Nurses Association and other stakeholders signed in in favor.

What it does not do: The bill does not alter confidentiality protections for internal reporting; transcripts and participants said internal communications remain protected while aggregated data may be shared publicly in the commission’s reports.