Violence in American Hospitals is Beyond Control. Is The Government Still Going to Turn a Blind Eye?

Author: Chris Ciabarra

Severe chest ache, an itch that festers into agony, an overwhelmed baby, an ankle sprained while on a run, a fentanyl overdose, a car accident, the urge to tell someone: “I feel sad and lonely.” The emergency department is the only place that can meet this wide range of demands, and its doors are always open to everyone.

But the very place we go to get care is under threat. Hospitals and medical facilities, spaces meant for healing, have increasingly become war zones. It’s no longer an exaggeration. A 2023 study revealed that 81.6% of nurses have experienced at least one type of workplace violence. Another shocking statistic: 73% of all non-fatal workplace injuries in the U.S. are due to violence in healthcare settings.

And the results? Beyond the bruises, broken bones, and shattered psyches: 26% of healthcare workers say they’re considering quitting entirely because of the violence they face. This, during a time when the healthcare system is already buckling under the weight of burnout and labor shortages.

It’s a crisis compounding a crisis.

Zoom out from the hospital, and the picture only gets darker. Violence is rising across the board. Our streets are filled with the effects of economic collapse, skyrocketing inflation, unaffordable housing, and untreated mental illness. Cities are seeing record levels of homelessness. And what many forget, or choose not to see, is that life on the street isn’t just hard, it’s dangerous. People carry weapons. For self-defense, for survival.

As a result, hospitals have become both a refuge and a flashpoint. People come seeking shelter, care, or simply warmth for the night. And while many are truly in need, the unfortunate reality is that some bring with them dangers that hospital staff are not equipped to face, from erratic, drug-induced behavior to deliberate violence.

These aren’t isolated incidents. In emergency rooms across the country, staff are being punched, pushed, or attacked with chairs, sometimes even weapons like hammers or knives. If you’re picturing chaos, you’re right.

And here’s the sobering question: What happens when the people saving lives no longer feel safe doing their jobs?

Yes, there is some light on the horizon. Bill AB-2975 for California mandates that hospitals must secure every entrance, not just the main one, with a weapon detection system. That means every entry point must be monitored and protected. Why is that? Because danger doesn’t always walk through the front door.

Modern security systems already exist to prevent these very scenarios. AI-powered tools, weapon detection scanners, and real-time monitoring: these are not just in science fiction movies. They’re on the market. They’re in use. And they are evidently working.

But not everywhere. Not nearly enough.

And here’s the brutal paradox: it costs money to protect people. Whether it’s screening technology, trained security staff, or smarter system oversight, none of it is free. So, unless state and federal governments step up to mandate and fund these protections, we’ll continue to rely on a patchwork system where safety depends on your ZIP code or your hospital’s budget.

The problem is urgent. And growing.

More guns are being sold. More people are being displaced. More individuals are falling through the cracks of our mental health system. And now, even marijuana legalization is contributing to rising incidents of temporary psychosis in vulnerable populations, further inflaming violent episodes in public spaces.

We’re past the point of debating whether or not these threats exist. They’re here. They’re real. And they’re already affecting the lives of our medical professionals every single day.

And let’s be honest: the guns aren’t going anywhere. As much as we argue, protest, and legislate, the Second Amendment ensures they remain a fixture of American life.

So we must face that reality. We must stop pretending we live in a world we don’t. We must adapt.

That means fortifying every hospital, every school, every government building. It means OSHA must step up and enforce its own mandates about providing protection to employees in high-risk environments. It means that security can no longer be seen as optional; it must be a right.

Our healthcare workers show up to save lives. The least we can do is protect theirs.

We’re standing at a fork in the road. One path leads to a system where our caregivers are protected, where technology reinforces human vigilance, and where no nurse fears for her life while doing her job. The other path? We’re already on it, and it ends in disaster.

California showed us a glimpse of what’s possible. Now it’s up to every other state, and every level of government, to follow. If we truly care about our nurses, our doctors, and our first responders, then we must create an environment where they can care for us without fearing for themselves.

They are our last line of defense. It’s time we treated them that way.

Author bio: Chris Ciabarra is the advocate for safer hospitals and an innovator in weapons detection and emergency response systems. He is currently the CTO and co-founder of Athena Security, a technology company specializing in AI-driven weapons detection and security systems for high-risk environments like hospitals, schools, and public spaces.