AHA Statement on the Introduction of The Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees Act

Robyn Begley
Chief Nursing Officer, American Hospital Association
Chief Executive Officer, American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL)

April 19, 2023

Without caregivers, our health care system will collapse. The millions of dedicated health care workers across this country should never fear for their safety when they are working to save lives. But the sad reality is that many of them do. We ask much of the nurses, physicians and other clinicians and caregivers who have dedicated themselves to making our communities healthier. We must do more to protect them from violence, threats, and intimidation. That is why the AHA supports the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees Act, introduced by Representatives Larry Bucshon (R-IN) and Madeleine Dean (D-PA).

Violence against health care workers has long been an issue but it has increased significantly during the last few years. Nearly three-quarters of nurses reported being verbally abused on the job and 44 percent reported being physically assaulted. This is unacceptable. Hospitals are working overtime to ensure the physical and psychological safety of their workforce by focusing on prevention and intervention of incidents as well as trauma support. This includes everything from technology and training to mitigate risk to redesigning facilities and workflow processes to prioritize safety and reimagining relationships with hospital security and others to support prevention and crisis response.

Hospitals cannot do this alone. Protecting our caregivers must be a national priority. This bipartisan bill would represent a major step forward in helping us get there. It would establish federal penalties for violence and intimidation against health care workers, and it would authorize much needed funding for additional staff training, security technology, and other resources hospitals need to prevent violence and protect caregivers more effectively.

We urge Congress to enact this important legislation.

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Contact:    Colleen Kincaid, ckincaid@aha.org