Health systems spend millions to reduce workplace violence

Modern Healthcare – Monday, April 14, 2025
By Caroline Hudson

Health systems are spending millions of dollars ramping up security measures at their facilities to protect patients and staff.

Many systems are hiring more officers, implementing weapons detection screenings and updating communication protocols. Executives said these efforts are a response to an uptick in workplace violence over the past several years, ranging from assaults on staff members to sexually aggressive comments and shootings.

The healthcare industry has been especially on edge given recent violent events, including the murder of former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December and a shooting in February at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York, Pennsylvania.

“It wasn’t that long ago that security was predominantly looked at as just a non-revenue-producing department that was a necessity but kind of a drain on the budget,” said Lori Morrow, senior vice president of enterprise healthcare at Allied Universal, which provides security services to more than 1,700 hospitals nationwide.

“The mindset has shifted for hospital leaders, with healthcare being the main contributor to workplace violence. It is an absolute priority for them to protect their staff and patients,” Morrow said.

Estimates for security costs vary widely, as there is no one standard for categorizing them. The American Hospital Association estimated proactive and reactive violence response efforts cost U.S. hospitals and health systems about $2.7 billion in 2016, its most recently available data. Meanwhile, a 2022 report from the Online Journal of Issues in Nursing said workplace violence costs the U.S. approximately $151 billion per year, with most incidents occurring in healthcare and social services.

Discussions of workplace violence in healthcare are often focused on emergency departments and behavioral health units, but many health systems nationwide are expanding security measures beyond those areas.

Cone Health in Greensboro, North Carolina, spent the last year and a half rolling out weapons detection equipment across its five hospitals.

Cone started installing equipment at emergency department entrances in late 2023. As of March, equipment had been installed at all main entrances, said Chris Cromer, executive director of security and emergency services. Cone said it has spent nearly $3 million installing units across the system.

“We took a proactive approach,” Cromer said. “Everything costs money, of course, but it was the right thing to do for Cone Health.”

The health system employs about 120 unarmed officers as part of an in-house security program, in addition to nearly 35 company police officers contracted through a third party, he said.

Renton, Washington-based Providence also recently took a closer look at its security strategy.

Chief Nursing Officer Syl Trepanier said Providence came to an inflection point on security a few years ago and put together a team to discuss next steps for workplace safety. Since then, facilities across the system have participated in risk assessments to determine their security needs.

Needs range from surveillance cameras to security officers and weapons detection equipment, in addition to established protocols with law enforcement. He said Providence’s scale benefits the health system in its negotiations with vendors.

“The risk assessment is an ongoing exercise,” Trepanier said.

Trepanier declined to provide details on Providence’s security budget.

Scripps Health helped form a healthcare violence task force in late 2023, which brings together executives from multiple health systems and law enforcement to discuss how to reduce workplace violence, said Todd Walbridge, senior director of safety and security at Scripps Health and a former Federal Bureau of Investigation special agent.

“We’re all one team knowing what the rules are and how we’re going to work together,” Walbridge said.

Scripps said it is projecting a $12 million budget for security spending this fiscal year.

Legislative actions are driving security measures in healthcare, as well.

Cone began using company police officers in response to North Carolina’s Hospital Violence Protection Act that went into effect Oct. 1, Cromer said. The law requires hospitals to always have at least one police officer in their emergency departments. The company police contract offers more consistent coverage than the off-duty officer program Cone had in place, he said.

Health systems in California, including San Diego-based Scripps, are preparing for a new law to go into effect that requires them to implement weapons detection screening by 2027.

Walbridge said he is concerned about the costs Scripps could incur to stay in compliance with the California law. He estimated that hiring staff to operate weapons detection equipment at every lobby entrance and emergency department across Scripps’ five hospitals would cost more than $5 million annually.

Walbridge said he thinks there is a bigger problem with patients using hospital equipment as weapons, as opposed to weapons coming through the entrances. His team trains employees on the 10-, 5- and 2-foot rule, which teaches them how to properly assess potentially violent situations from certain distances.

Safer work environments do bring payoffs. For example, Walbridge said Scripps reduced workplace violence by 31% last year — 28 injuries were avoided, which added up to more than $1.1 million in cost savings. Ensuring staff members’ safety at work is a win for patients and the health system, he said.

“By prioritizing [staff], we are prioritizing our patients because we can be there for our patients when our staff aren’t out because they’ve been injured,” Walbridge said.

Ultimately, health systems said security is a necessary investment, despite the costs.

Cone’s Cromer said his team hears from employees and the public that they feel safer.

“It’s something we take seriously, and we try to create a safe environment for all when they enter the front doors or even in the parking lot of our facilities,” Cromer said.

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