Workplace Violence

The AHA’s Hospitals Against Violence (HAV) initiative shares resources and strategies to promote a culture of safety across the field. To guide health care leaders in efforts to prevent and mitigate violence, the HAV initiative developed the Building a Safe Workplace and Community framework.
Enactment of the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act (H.R. 2584/S. 2768) is a top priority for the AHA and the hospital field.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, health care workers across the nation have experienced a sharp increase in incidences of workplace violence, with no sign that this trend is receding. Despite the diligent efforts of hospitals and health systems to prevent violence, health care workers…
Violence in health care settings should never be accepted as “part of the job.”
AHA Letter to Representatives Larry Bucshon and Madeleine Dean expressing support for the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act (H.R. 2584),
AHA letter to Senators Joe Manchin and Marco Rubio voicing support for the Safety from Violence for Healthcare Employees (SAVE) Act (S. 2768),
Hospitals are working on workplace violence prevention using technology and training to mitigate risk and redesigning facilities to prioritize safety.
In 2021, the American Hospital Association’s Hospitals Against Violence (HAV) Advisory Group developed the Building a Safe Workplace and Community framework to guide health care leaders in their efforts to prevent and mitigate violence.
Karie Gibson, a licensed clinical psychologist who leads one of the FBI’s five behavioral analysis units, shares a behavioral threat assessment approach to violence prevention for hospitals and health care teams.