Workplace violence in healthcare is on the rise, and the topic is taking a front seat in conversations among health leaders nationwide. As concern for safety in hospitals and other healthcare facilities grows, leaders are looking to understand the facts, impact, and options they have to better address violence in healthcare.
In this article, we’ll explore several key statistics related to violence in healthcare. We’ll cover how organizations are tracking the impact on people and profits and how a stronger workplace violence prevention plan can improve employee safety, engagement, and patient care.
The Growing Crisis of Workplace Violence in Healthcare
Healthcare workers dedicate their lives to caring for others, yet they are disproportionately at risk of workplace violence. While healthcare professionals make up only 10% of the U.S. workforce, they experience a staggering 48% of recorded nonfatal injuries due to workplace violence.¹ The crisis has reached a breaking point, with growing concerns about safety driving many healthcare professionals to reconsider their roles and careers.
An Alarming Reality: Violence is Escalating
Recent data paints a dire picture. A January 2024 survey of emergency physicians found that 91% had either been a victim of violence or knew a colleague who had been.² Even more concerning, the majority believe violence against healthcare workers is getting worse.² These numbers indicate a healthcare environment where staff routinely face threats, aggression, and even physical harm.
Traditionally, it has been thought that nurses face the majority of this issue and that violence occurs mainly in specific departments, such as the emergency room or psychiatric unit. However, trends in recent years have proved that is false, with reports of violence impacting executive leadership members, physicians, and aids, and in departments from telemetry to obstetrics and gynecology.
Campus-Wide Threats Are a Growing Concern
Safety in healthcare extends beyond individual incidents. According to the CENTEGIX 2025 Healthcare Trends Report, 1 in 10 incidents captured by a CrisisAlert wearable duress button were triggered due to a potential campus-wide threat³—an eye-opening indication of the large-scale safety risks facing healthcare facilities. The devastating UPMC event in February 2025, where a gunman entered a hospital and took hostages in the ICU, killing a police officer and injuring five others, exemplifies how susceptible healthcare facilities are to threats.
Hospitals, once viewed as sanctuaries for healing, are becoming high-risk areas because of their open-door accommodations for patients and visitors. Security leaders are being tasked with evaluating the need for environmental modifications like cameras, metal detectors, and wearable duress buttons.
Workplace Violence in Healthcare is Driving Employees Away
As violence increases, tolerance for the daily threat of harm decreases. Many healthcare professionals are questioning their future in the industry. A recent survey of 3,300 RNs found that more than one in four nurses (26%) are considering leaving their current role due to workplace violence.⁴ NSI Nursing Solutions published data last year showing that 24% of all newly hired RNs left within their first year.⁵ The ongoing workforce shortage is already straining healthcare systems—losing more professionals to safety concerns will only exacerbate the crisis.
If organizations fail to act, they risk losing highly skilled staff at an alarming rate. This could substantially impact the workloads of the remaining staff and the quality of care they can provide. Additionally, understaffing has been noted as a trigger for aggressive outbursts from patients and family members, making this cycle more difficult to break.
Investing in safety can provide financial upside for organizations. Workplace violence is tied to an increase in paid time off and worker’s compensation claims. Reducing the number of incidents will in turn reduce spend in these areas. Additionally, if enhancing safety can impact an organization’s retention rate, it could produce significant savings in labor costs. NSI Nursing Solutions found that each percentage point reduction in RN turnover could lower labor costs by $263,000 annually for the average hospital.⁵
Underreporting Skews the Scope of the Problem
The statistics we see may only be the tip of the iceberg, as it’s common knowledge that violence in healthcare goes widely unreported. A highly cited 2015 study found that just 12% of workplace violence incidents in healthcare were reported—meaning that 88% of incidents went undocumented.⁶ The problem persists today, as many healthcare workers still feel that violence is “part of the job.” This mindset not only perpetuates the crisis but also prevents meaningful change and safety improvements from being implemented.
So why are so many incidents of workplace violence unreported? There are several reasons for the lack of reporting, ranging from fear of retaliation to compassion for the aggressor and even a lack of willingness based on what the individual feels the outcome may be. A 2024 survey collected over 550 responses from nurses providing direct patient care in Texas. It found that 46% of nurses chose not to report their most recent encounter with workplace violence to their employer; more than half said it was because they did not expect anything to change in the long term.⁷
A 2024 ACEP survey revealed that when incidents of workplace violence were reported, many healthcare professionals felt their concerns were ignored. The survey showed that 68% of respondents felt their employer did not handle their report appropriately. Worse yet, 50% said nothing was done at all, and only 23% saw a behavioral flag added to a patient’s chart as a precaution for others.² Similar results were depicted in the 2024 National Nurses United Survey, where 45% of respondents said their employer ignored reports of workplace violence, and 29% said their employer reprimanded or blamed the employee.⁸ If healthcare workers feel unheard and unsupported, they are far less likely to report future incidents, allowing violence to continue progressing unmitigated.
The Cost of Inaction: Are Hospitals Prepared to Respond?
Beyond the reasons impacting incident reporting trends, the larger question is whether hospitals and healthcare organizations are prepared to handle workplace violence effectively. Crisis Prevention Institute’s 2024 Workplace Violence Prevention Report found that only 18% of organizations achieved a “Leaders” benchmark score in workplace safety preparedness.⁹ CPI warns that organizations scoring below 76 in preparedness put their employees at a “high risk” of an unsafe work environment. This means the majority of healthcare organizations lack the infrastructure, training, and protocols necessary to protect their workforce.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is stepping in to investigate incidents that could have been prevented by employers, like the event at UPMC and the ElaraCaring incident where a home-health patient murdered nurse Joyce Grayson. When deemed necessary, the organization is fining health systems and strengthening accountability for the safety of their healthcare workers. OSHA states, “In most workplaces where risk factors can be identified, the risk of assault can be prevented or minimized if employers take appropriate precautions…a well-written and implemented Workplace Violence Prevention Program, combined with engineering controls, administrative controls, and training, can reduce the incidence of workplace violence.”
The Solution: Building a Culture of Safety
Workplace violence in healthcare is not an inevitability—it’s a crisis that requires urgent action. Healthcare organizations must shift from reactive responses to proactive safety strategies. This means:
- Investing in workplace safety solutions such as wearable duress technology, digital incident and asset mapping, and visitor management systems.
- Enhancing staff training so healthcare workers can confidently de-escalate situations before they turn violent.
- Encouraging transparent reporting and ensuring that reports lead to tangible safety improvements.
From leadership down, organizations must work to create a culture of safety where employees feel protected, supported, and empowered to speak up.
Healthcare workers are essential, but their safety is far from guaranteed. Violence is escalating, and its impact is pushing professionals out of the industry. Decision-makers must take these statistics as a wake-up call. Investing in safety solutions isn’t optional; it’s a necessity. By fostering a culture of safety, healthcare leaders can protect their staff, improve patient outcomes, and ensure that hospitals remain places of healing—not harm.
The CENTEGIX Safety Platform™ minimizes identification, notification, and response time in emergencies. CrisisAlert, a discreet, wearable duress button, empowers healthcare workers to summon help anytime, anywhere on your campus. 98% of CrisisAlert users say they feel safer and more supported as a staff member.¹⁰ LEARN MORE
