Healthcare facilities should be places for healing, not violence

On June 1 of this year, the shooting at a Tulsa, Oklahoma-area hospital that left four people dead and multiple others injured highlighted on a national scale the need to provide additional safeguards for our healthcare professionals inside medical facilities. As a cardiothoracic surgeon who practiced for 15 years before coming to Congress, I know just how critical it is for our hospitals to remain safe and secure so patients can receive the highest level of care.

Most incidents of violence and harassment against our healthcare community never make the headlines. According to one study, between February and June of 2020, about 45% of nurses reported experiencing physical violence while on the job, and 68% of nurses reported cases of verbal abuse. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that healthcare professionals are five times more likely to be injured from violence in their workplace than other workers.

Most hospitals and health systems have protocols to detect and deter violence on their property. But clearly additional measures are needed in certain facilities.

The toll of workplace violence on hospital employees can be immense. These episodes of violence interfere with the ability of our nation’s physicians, nurses and other healthcare professionals to keep patients at the center of their work. They may also deter the next generation of bright young students from choosing medicine as a career path, further exacerbating already dire shortages.

The risk of harm resulting from violent incidents has increased during COVID-19 pandemic. Many hospitals are reeling as they struggle to fill jobs, and the remaining staff are facing historic levels of stress and burnout. At the same time, we are seeing a dramatic uptick in violence in our hospitals, and 1 in 10 nurses report increased difficulty with reporting these incidents. This strain, caused by the global health crisis, has placed an unprecedented burden on our healthcare community and catalyzed a decades-long problem that we must address.

Currently, no federal law exists that protects hospital employees from assault and intimidation. This is why I teamed up with Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pennsylvania) to introduce the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act, which would establish federal legal protections to help deter violence inside our nation’s hospitals and other care sites and keep these vital institutions safer and more secure. Local law enforcement agencies are doing the best they can to keep everyone safe, but are often overwhelmed and deserve all the support they can get.

This bill, modeled after similar protections enacted for airline and airport workers, would specifically criminalize assault or intimidation of hospital employees—with protections for individuals who may be mentally incapacitated due to illness or substance use. Enhanced penalties for those who knowingly assault and intimidate hospital employees will deter further violence and ensure future offenders are given proper punishments for their crimes. With federal protections, I hope that we can mitigate the accelerating incidents of violence on our healthcare workers to protect our physicians, nurses and other caregivers, as well as patients, family members and others inside our medical facilities.

As I travel throughout my district, I continue to hear stories of caregivers who have experienced some type of violence or abuse on the job. We cannot let this continue to be the reality. Healthcare workers and patients alike need to feel confident that hospitals are places where illness is treated and pain is lessened, not where people should be fearful.

I firmly believe that the SAVE Act, if passed, will help protect our nation’s healthcare professionals by cutting down on the frequency of workplace violence. As a result, patients will experience better care. This is a real problem facing our country and we need to take additional steps toward a solution.

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