Healthcare workers across multiple states have launched strikes to protest escalating workplace violence and demand improved safety conditions. Emergency room nurse Crystal Dhooghe at Henry Ford Genesys Hospital in Michigan described witnessing colleagues being shoved, pushed, scratched, and bitten. She has been on strike since Labor Day of the previous year alongside hundreds of unionized colleagues. The hospital’s management stated it has implemented metal detectors, armed security officers trained to make arrests, and de-escalation training, characterizing the situation as a “national epidemic” while contending the strike is primarily economic rather than safety-related.
National data reveals that hospital workers face injury rates from violent incidents at seven times the rate experienced by the general working population, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Researchers note that emergency rooms face particular challenges, with violence risk increasing when facilities operate with insufficient staffing or when employees lack adequate training. A mental health worker at Butler Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, was assaulted by a patient in February 2024, suffering a concussion and broken nose. The incident occurred despite the worker’s limited experience on the unit and the absence of additional staff support during patient monitoring.
Following the incident, the mental health worker joined approximately 700 unionized workers at Butler Hospital in a strike that lasted several months and forced the facility to close nearly half its beds. The labor action resulted in wage increases and agreements to provide financial support for violently injured workers, as well as a jointly funded “time bank” for recovery compensation. However, subsequent violence persisted, with an unarmed patient assaulting multiple staff members and security personnel in the hospital’s emergency room five months after the strike’s conclusion.
Legislative efforts to address the problem have focused on criminal penalties. The American Hospital Association has lobbied Congress to establish federal crimes for assaulting healthcare workers with sentences up to 10 years in prison. At least 45 states have enacted similar laws, though workplace safety experts report no evidence that such legislation reduces violence incidence. Instead, striking workers have prioritized demands for adequate staffing levels and proper training. The Joint Commission, which accredits over 80% of U.S. hospitals and health systems, established performance goals requiring proper staffing and safety training effective in January.
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