Hospitals Against Violence Day marks turning point for healthcare worker safety in Indiana

New law broadening protections & penalties take effect July 1

Submitted by Indiana Hospital Association

Healthcare professionals across the nation have experienced a rise in violence while on the job delivering care to patients. To prevent these disturbing attacks, healthcare employers are coming together today, June 5 to recognize the 10^th annual Hospitals Against Violence Day.

For Hoosier caregivers, this year’s day of awareness led by the Indiana Hospital Association (IHA) takes on greater meaning as a new law goes into effect July 1 that extends protections to more healthcare workers and adds stiffer penalties for violent offenders.

House Enrolled Act 1249, authored by Rep. Alex Zimmerman (R-North Vernon) and championed by Indiana House Courts and Criminal Code Chair Rep. Wendy McNamara (R-Evansville), was passed by the Indiana General Assembly during the 2026 legislative session.

The new law expands the term “healthcare employee” to include all individuals whose responsibilities involve contact or interaction with a patient, not just licensed professionals, or those within an emergency department (ED). It also means enhanced penalties for battery committed against healthcare employees, such as fines and even jail time.

Laurie Gerdt, IHA quality and safety advisor, said people need to be aware of these enhancements in healthcare settings, just as they are aware of protections provided to airline employees.

“Hospitals are sacred spaces of healing where safety is paramount,” said Gerdt. “Aggressive patients or visitors who lash out end up sabotaging that sacred space and distracting doctors, nurses, and other workers from providing high-quality care – and nobody wants that.”

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare workers are five times as likely to suffer a workplace violence injury than workers overall, more than any private industry sector over the most recent two-year period that data is available. One study estimated that the incidences of workplace violence could be up to three times higher due to underreporting by employees.

While a mechanism to gather and report data at the state level is still in development, IHA assembled a workgroup represented by Indiana hospitals of all sizes, urban and rural, to study trends in workplace violence and the impact of physical and verbal aggression on workers.

“Workplace violence absolutely impacts retention and recruiting of team members into healthcare,” said Katie Du Fresne, executive director of clinical risk management for IU Health and co-leader of IHA’s initiative to prevent violence in hospitals. “No one wants to work in an environment where they feel unsafe. And workplace violence, especially acts of verbal aggression, have been accepted in the healthcare environment for many, many years. And that’s not okay.”

As a registered nurse with 30 years of experience, Du Fresne understands the impact on caregivers – and their patients – having been attacked during one shift early in her career.

“About three months after I started my first job, I was actually assaulted while I was delivering care to a patient,” Du Fresne recalled. “I remember the racing heartbeat, the shortness of breath, the tightness in my chest. And I’m so lucky that my increased stress that day didn’t lead to an error. But it certainly could have.”

Lindsay Zimmerman, MD, has been an attending physician for 13 years, providing care at multiple EDs throughout the state, including Ascension St. Vincent Fishers. She agrees that workplace violence is a major cause of attrition in the healthcare field. Dr. Zimmerman herself almost left the profession in 2020 after getting attacked by a patient who intended to kill her.

Instead of leaving, however, she began talking openly with colleagues to prevent complacency over workplace violence, and ultimately, change the culture of safety in emergency medicine.

“One of the most frustrating parts about being in healthcare for the longest time was the assumption that healthcare violence is part of the job, and I think we need to refute that,” Dr. Zimmerman said. “Checking vital signs is part of the job. Doing patient evaluations is part of the job. Workplace violence is not part of the job – and we’re working to change that.”

An important factor in preventing acts of violence in healthcare settings is recognizing the factors that lead some people to become physically or verbally aggressive.

“What contributes to violence in hospitals can’t always come down to a single thing,” explained Jason Stefaniak, executive director of public safety for Beacon Health System who co-leads IHA’s workgroup on safety. “Patients often come in, they’re vulnerable, they’re scared. It’s never their best day. Trauma. Bad news. Grief. Dementia. Substance abuse. These are all things that contribute to it and can explain it, but they don’t excuse it.”

To prevent acts of violence in healthcare from happening in the first place, hospitals are making major investments in infrastructure and personnel.

Some examples include investing in metal detectors, surveillance equipment, and security staff; placing signage throughout facilities; training employees on de-escalation techniques; providing tools to alert security and summon help; establishing protocols for reporting incidents; working in partnership with law enforcement – and working with legislators to advocate for policy changes like HEA 1249.

“It won’t stop every act of aggression,” Gerdt said of the new law. “But by building awareness with the public and with our workforce, making it clear that such behavior is unacceptable, the new law will help create a culture of safety for caregivers, patients and their loved ones.”

At least in Indiana, the concerns of Hoosiers working in the healthcare field are being heard by hospital leaders as well as policymakers.

“Everyone has the right to feel safe in their workplace,” Du Fresne said. “Indiana’s increased penalties for battery against healthcare workers, while they’re delivering care, shows that the State of Indiana recognizes that this is a problem and is supportive and trying to take steps to decrease this problem.”