WSHA staff wore red on Friday, June 7, to recognize the American Hospital Association’s (AHA’s) eighth-annual Hospitals Against Violence #HAVhope Friday. This national day of awareness highlights how America’s hospitals and health systems continue to seek partnerships, innovations and creative thinking to foster peace and combat violence in their workplaces and communities.
Since COVID-19 led to the global pandemic, health care workers across the country have suffered a sharp increase in workplace violence. There is no indication this trend will reverse. Despite hospitals’ and health systems’ diligent efforts to prevent violence, health care workers remain five times more likely than any other type of worker to be physically attacked on the job, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
WSHA stands with the AHA. Violence in health care is unacceptable. Violence also reverberates beyond the act itself, leaving those targeted with lasting emotional trauma and ultimately harming patient care. When health care workers are forced to fear for their safety, they are unable to give their full attention to patients. This leads to delays in care and a higher likelihood of patient adverse events.
Learn more about the Hospitals Against Violence campaign from the AHA.
Sincerely,
Jacqueline Barton True
WSHA Vice President, Advocacy and Rural Health
jacquelineb@wsha.org
