Save Healthcare Workers Act Would Make Violence Against Healthcare Workers a Federal Crime

• The Save Healthcare Workers Act would implement federal penalties for those who knowingly assault healthcare employees. 
• The bipartisan bill, introduced in the House and Senate, would be the first to establish assault on a healthcare worker as a federal crime. 
• Penalties would range from fines to up to two decades in prison, depending on the severity of the attack. 

Bipartisan legislation could make violence against healthcare workers a federal crime — spurred by the myriad attacks that have been highlighted across the media in recent months. 

The Save Healthcare Workers Act, introduced by Sens. Cindy Hyde-Smith (MI) and Angus King (ME), would add “assault of hospital personnel” to Chapter 7 of Title 18 of the United States Code, which provides protections to officers, foreign officials, and “internationally protected persons,” among others. 

“As violence against healthcare workers rises, we have a duty to protect the men and women serving in hospitals and health care facilities,” King stated in a news release. “The bipartisan Save Healthcare Workers Act will help to combat this senseless violence and ensure it no longer goes unpunished — keeping staff safe and free from harm so they’re able to focus on patient care.” 

Under the Save Healthcare Workers Act, anyone who knowingly assaults a healthcare worker would face fines, up to 10 years in prison, or both. However, if the assault includes a firearm or any other “dangerous weapons” or occurs during a public health emergency, the prison duration could be up to 20 years. 

A companion bill also was introduced in the House of Representatives by Reps. Madeleine Dean (PA) and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA). 

Why is the Save Healthcare Workers Act Needed? 

Just this month, a woman was charged with allegedly attacking a nurse and patient at a Missouri hospital, causing the nurse to suffer a brain bleed, according to Fox 2. And in Kentucky, a woman allegedly assaulted a nurse at the University of Louisville hospital. 

AMN Healthcare’s most recent Survey of Registered Nurses found that physical and verbal abuse “continues to be an occupational hazard for nurses.” Of the RNs who participated, 15% reported “always” or “often” experiencing physical abuse from patients, while 27% reported “sometimes” experiencing physical abuse from patients.

More than half of respondents reported being aware of workplace violence prevention programs, but of those, only half believe the programs are “moderately” or extremely” effective.  

“It therefore is important to proactively communicate, reinforce, and train staff on safety protocols, ensuring nurses feel supported and protected in their work environment, and to promote workplace violence programs so that nurses are aware of them,” the report stated. 

Some states are taking their own initiative as well. In Illinois, advocates continue to call for passage of the Hospital Worker Staff and Safety bill, which would implement minimum staffing ratios. The Pennsylvania House of Representatives recently passed the Healthcare Workplace Violence Prevention Act — mere months after a shooting at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. 

Support for the Save Healthcare Workers Act 

Several state and national organizations have thrown their support behind the federal measure, including the Society of Hospital Medicine and American Hospital Association. 

“Over the years, hospitals and health systems have implemented numerous protocols to stem workplace violence but they need help,” AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack stated in a news release. “By enacting federal protections Congress can create a powerful deterrent against workplace violence in hospitals and increase penalties for those who harm our caregivers.” 

The Emergency Nurses Association, the Mississippi and Maine hospital associations, and American College of Emergency Physicians are among the other supporters.

The Bottom Line

Violence against healthcare workers has been a pervasive problem at hospitals and medical facilities for a number of years. Legislation introduced in the House and Senate would establish federal penalties for knowingly attacking a healthcare worker, including nurses. In addition to fines, perpetrators could face up to 20 years in prison depending on the severity of the attack. 

Read More