“Our hearts are broken. These are our colleagues and friends . . . No person should fear for their life for merely going to work, especially a nurse or healthcare worker whose passion is to help others heal. We hope our legislators understand that we need to protect our healthcare workers.”
Dr. Serena Bumpus, RN, CEO of the Texas Nurses Association
by Michael Del Trecco, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, VAHHS My heart is broken too. Like the rest of the health care community and indeed all Americans, we at VAHHS are devastated by the horrifying news that two health care workers were murdered in Texas last week while helping a mom give birth.
Incidents of all workplace violence have been steadily increasing since before the pandemic, especially including our hospitals. Our emergency rooms, always places of high stress and high stakes, are particularly hard hit with violent episodes of both verbal and physical abuse happening daily.
Registered nurses suffer violent events three times more often than in all other professions, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Press Ganey, a leading health care research organization reports that, on average, two nurses were assaulted every hour in the second quarter of 2022. That translates to about 57 assaults per day across the U.S.
This is more than unacceptable.
At VAHHS, we are happy to have had the recent support of our legislators, governor and other policymakers in our efforts to make conditions safer by prohibiting firearms in hospitals. We thank everyone who helped make that law a reality for their support. Because the issue of violence continues to be of great concern to our communities and providers, VAHHS will continue to discuss additional public policy options in the upcoming months.
Vermont health care workers are not immune to violence—or the everyday fear that it might occur. You have likely read in the news about the many Vermont health care workers—particularly in our emergency departments—who have been victim to everything from disrespect to racist slurs to out-in-out violence, leading to emotional trauma and even career-ending injuries. That is why VAHHS continues to provide resources to both our members and to the public about ways to curb the unacceptable behavior that has become far too prevalent.
We need your help to stop this trend in its tracks. Please take a moment to review the resources surrounding this important topic on our website and share our PSA on your social media channels We grieve for the deaths of the caregivers in Texas and will honor their dedication by continuing to sound the alarms here in Vermont and advocate for sound policy to protect our health care heroes. Thanks for your help.