Violence against health care workers is at crisis levels. We should seek to protect them from harm.

By Kevin B. Mahoney and James Ballinghoff

Imagine coming to work fearful that you’ll be threatened with violence and hateful words, physically assaulted, sexually harassed, or stalked via social media by people you meet during your shift. Imagine being scared to walk to your car after work because one of those people may be waiting for you. Imagine taking steps to remove your last name from your employee badge because you worry they would track down your address and hurt your family. Imagine you work in a hospital or a clinic, and those who mean to do you harm are your patients or their family members.

Violence against health care workers across the United States is at crisis levels. Taking punches, being spat at, or being threatened with vile, racist, sexist language should never be accepted or dismissed as “just part of the job.” The COVID-19 pandemic shed light on the many challenges our health care workers face every day, but the fear that comes with the threat of violence at work remains largely in the shadows. Solving this crisis requires cooperation and strong commitment from health care employers, from local, state, and federal law enforcement, from professional organizations, and from community partners.

First, hospitals must invest in protecting their employees and work on preventing violence before it starts. Even as the health care industry faces new financial pressures, our workforce is our greatest asset. At Penn Medicine, we are putting more than $28 million into the roll-out of weapons detection systems at entrances to our hospitals and multi-specialty outpatient facilities. We’re distributing duress badges to every clinical staff member in our health system – including our home care team – to ensure they can easily call for help at any time, and have launched de-escalation training that equip staff with skills to cope with situations that may take a dangerous turn in hospitals, clinics or home.

Health care employers must also support workers when they do experience violence while doing their jobs. That means helping them work with police, offering counseling and support resources to staff recovering from incidents and threats of violence at work, and standing beside them with navigation services and paid time off during the difficult legal process.

Federal legislation could buttress these efforts, too, by sending a strong message about how valued our essential health care workers are. The bipartisan SAVE Act would give health care workers the same legal protections against assault that commercial airline flight crews have under federal law. It would also authorize $25 million in grants over 10 years to reduce violence in hospitals.

In Pennsylvania, assaulting a health care worker is a felony, but for a variety of reasons, health care professionals are often reluctant to press charges against their attackers. That shows the passage of laws at any level is only one step. It’s also crucial that local prosecutors and judges understand that vigorous enforcement of these laws is critical to creating a safe environment in our hospitals and deterring violent behavior.

In the past, our own colleagues have experienced a sense of apathy from the court system in Philadelphia, believing their experience will not be taken seriously. Even as physical injuries to an individual professional heal, the impact of violence can linger on their psyche. And the toll on the entire health care system cannot be understated, from the corrosive effect on retention and recruitment of talented staff to threats to interrupting daily operations.

Other jurisdictions have put these issues at the forefront and are taking steps to make sure health care workers are protected and perpetrators are held accountable. In Philadelphia and across the Commonwealth, we need to improve coordination between prosecutors, healthcare providers and law enforcement. And just like other victims of crime, health care workers are owed regular updates on the investigation and the outcome of the case.

Health care professionals are there for their communities around the clock – at births, deaths, and crucial moments in between. They deserve our full support to be safe on the job.

Kevin B. Mahoney is chief executive officer of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. James Ballinghoff is chief nurse executive of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Chief Nursing Officer at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center.