According to HR Acuity, workplace violence incidents in large hospital systems jumped 35% in 2024. This is more than double the 15% increase seen across the broader business landscape.
Fire and life safety compliance in healthcare often centers on well-known problem areas such as fire doors, sprinkler systems, and corridor clutter, but some of the most consequential risks receive far less attention.
Intensive care units (ICU) are among the most controlled clinical environments in a hospital, but they also present unique security challenges. Emotions often run high when patients are critically ill, and family members facing life-threatening situations may react unpredictably in moments of...
A recent California assembly bill marks one of the most prescriptive workplace violence prevention mandates hospitals have faced to date—not just requiring plans on paper, but forcing operational decisions around weapons detection, staffing, training, and patient access.
Fire detection in healthcare is rarely about whether a hospital has a system in place. It’s about whether that system supports real-world decision-making under pressure—for staff who cannot evacuate patients quickly and for first responders entering complex, occupied buildings with incomplete...
As workplace violence continues to rise, hospitals are discovering that some of their most serious security gaps are not rooted in staffing or policy. Instead, they may come down to life safety systems that were designed decades ago.
As hospitals automate more of their security infrastructure to offset staffing shortages and rising risks, the real challenge is no longer whether to automate, but how to do it without introducing blind spots.
Security leaders know the stakes involved in workplace violence: clinical disruptions, staff injuries, turnover spikes, patient-flow bottlenecks, and millions in downstream costs. But converting those realities into measurable financial outcomes is where many organizations lose momentum. As such...
Hospitals continue to grapple with the rise of weapons-related violence in the emergency department (ED), and many organizations now screen patients and visitors upon entering.
Security and clinical leaders agree—it’s not enough to react to violent incidents in healthcare after the fact. Effective prevention requires executive commitment, interdepartmental coordination, and tailored strategies that evolve with the threat landscape.
