Hospitals press Congress to make attacks on healthcare workers a federal crime

As hospitals continue to see high levels of violence against their employees, they are pressing lawmakers to pass legislation that would give greater protections for healthcare workers.

Members of Congress have introduced legislation called the Save Healthcare Workers Act that would make it a federal crime to attack employees of hospitals and healthcare organizations.

Lawmakers have introduced similar measures in previous years, which have attracted bipartisan support, and that’s no small feat in Washington of late. But despite solid support, lawmakers have never managed to pass such legislation.

Under the legislation, those attacking hospital workers would face a federal prison sentence of up to 10 years if they are convicted, and they could face higher penalties for using a deadly weapon. Lawmakers and advocates say hospital and healthcare workers would get protections similar for those who work in the airline industry.

U.S. Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith, a Republican from Mississippi, and Angus King, an independent from Maine, have co-sponsored the legislation in the Senate (S. 1600).

U.S. Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, a Republican from Iowa, and Madeleine Dean, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, have sponsored a companion bill in the House (H. 3178).

“I believe the federal government can help deter violence and keep our healthcare workers safe by establishing stronger penalties for those who assault hospital employees,” Hyde-Smith said in a statement. “Our legislation will protect these workers and, importantly, the people who rely on their care.”

Ryan Oglesby, president of the Emergency Nurses Association, says he is hopeful that Congress will pass the measure this session.

When asked about the difficulty in seeing the bill become law despite bipartisan backing, Oglesby says, “It is interesting, and it is somewhat disappointing.”

Oglesby says violence in hospitals, and in emergency departments, is unacceptably high and appears to be getting worse.

Every day, two nurses are assaulted an hour, according to Press Ganey. More than half of all emergency nurses say they have been physically assaulted or threatened with violence in the past 30 days, according to a survey by the Emergency Nurses Association. Nine out of 10 emergency physicians say they have been attacked or threatened in the past year, according to a 2024 survey from the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Thirty states have laws that make it a felony to attack healthcare workers, but Oglesby says it’s important to have a nationwide law. Oglesby speculates that some of the resistance for a federal law stems from those who view it as a state issue.

“We struggle as well to get our legislative bodies to understand that it's something that we've tolerated, but it's not acceptable,” Oglesby says.

The American Hospital Association released a report last week estimating that the cost of hospital violence reached more than $18. billion in 2023. Researchers at the University of University of Washington School of Medicine performed the analysis. The cost includes hospitals losing staff time for workers who are assaulted and investing in more technology and manpower to boost security.

The hospital association has supported the legislation. Rick Pollack, president and CEO of the American Hospital Association, is urging Congress to get it done.

“Ensuring a safe working environment for health care providers must be a national priority,” Pollack said in a statement. “Acts of violence not only jeopardize the physical and psychological health of victims, but they also disrupt patient care and contribute to staff burnout and workforce shortages.”

Nurses say the daily risk of violence in hospitals is driving some nurses away from the bedside, and it’s making it harder for health systems to recruit nurses.

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Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association, says the federal bill would provide added protections, especially for health systems operating hospitals in several states.

“I think, particularly with so many organizations being multi-state and having policies and processes in place, we do need consistency,” she says.

Advocates for hospitals and healthcare workers have hoped to see greater federal protections for some time, and they are counting on Congress to take action. They acknowledge the legislation won’t solve the problem, but they say it could make a difference.

“No nurse or healthcare provider in any facility or any specialty area of practice should go to work afraid or concerned that they may not come home or they may be injured on shift,” Oglesby says.

The legislation also includes provisions that would exempt individuals from being prosecuted if they have an intellectual or physical disability.

Dean said it’s time for hospital employees to have the same protections as the airline industry.

“Healthcare workers devote their lives to our well-being — yet hospital employees face more and more incidents of violence in the workplace with no federal protections in place," Dean said in a statement.