{"id":617145,"date":"2026-05-01T11:41:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T11:41:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/617145\/"},"modified":"2026-05-01T11:41:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T11:41:13","slug":"hospital-leaders-lawmakers-push-for-solutions-as-violence-in-healthcare-rises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/617145\/","title":{"rendered":"Hospital leaders, lawmakers push for solutions as violence in healthcare rises"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>SYRACUSE, N.Y. \u2014 Violence inside hospitals and emergency rooms is becoming an increasing concern across New York State and the country, with healthcare workers facing threats that leaders say can no longer be ignored.<\/p>\n<p>According to national data, healthcare workers account for nearly three-quarters of all nonfatal workplace violence incidents. In New York, up to 70% of emergency room nurses and more than half of ER physicians report being physically assaulted on the job,  most often by patients.<\/p>\n<p>Here in Central New York, the issue came into sharp focus in 2024 when a <a href=\"https:\/\/cnycentral.com\/news\/local\/security-overhaul-launched-at-upstate-university-hospital-after-father-stabbed-in-er\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">man was stabbed inside the emergency room<\/a> at Upstate University Hospital after a suspect allegedly gained access by pretending to be injured.<\/p>\n<p>Now, hospital leaders and lawmakers are looking for solutions.<\/p>\n<p>More than 200 healthcare officials from across Central New York gathered Thursday at Turning Stone Resort Casino for the \u201cRespect and Heal\u201d conference, aimed at addressing workplace violence and improving safety for both staff and patients.<\/p>\n<p>AnneMarie Walker-Czyz, President and CEO of Rome Health, says the problem has escalated in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe workplace violence topic in healthcare has really accelerated in the last several years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>She says incidents range from verbal threats to physical assaults and are happening more frequently. In some cases, the violence can be severe. Walker-Czyz described a recent incident involving a security officer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA front-line security guard was physically assaulted fracturing their jaw,\u201d she described.<\/p>\n<p>She says broader societal challenges, including increased stress and behavioral health issues,  are contributing to the rise in violence.<\/p>\n<p>At the conference, leaders discussed ways to reduce risk, including de-escalation training, enhanced security measures, and additional support for staff.<\/p>\n<p>State Senator Joseph Griffo says stronger penalties could be part of the solution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNo violence is acceptable particularly when you are trying to help someone in a critical state,\u201d Griffo said.<\/p>\n<p>Griffo says there is growing urgency to act, including proposals to increase penalties for assaults against healthcare workers and provide more resources to hospitals.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need to confront the issue and deal with it I do believe there is a sense of urgency and immediate attention,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SYRACUSE, N.Y. \u2014 Violence inside hospitals and emergency rooms is becoming an increasing concern across New York State&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[97,252,253],"class_list":["post-617145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}