A plan sponsored by state Rep. Douglas Wozniak to help employees in Michigan’s health care sector recover from traumatic events in the workplace has been signed into law.

In 2016, Michigan saw its first and only critical incident stress management (CISM) statute signed, providing public safety officers with confidentiality and legal protections. But the measure did not extend to health care professionals who provide emergency medical services on a routine basis. Wozniak, who serves on the House Health Policy Committee in his first legislative term, sponsored the bill to account for the oversight and include these individuals.

CISM is a voluntary intervention process designed to help individuals dealing with traumatic stress in the workplace, carried out by a response team of trained peers. It does not replace formal psychotherapy, but has been proven to be an effective initial response for health care facilities experiencing lost productivity due to critical incident stress.

“We have seen increasing incidents of violence and harassment against Michigan hospital workers, as the demands and stress that go along with their jobs also increases,” said Wozniak, of Shelby Township, whose wife and daughter both work in the health care field as a nurse and pediatrician, respectively. “Employees in this sector are four times more likely to experience violence and harassment than other people who work in other professions.”

House Bill 4862 had unanimous support in the House and Senate before reaching the governor’s desk.