Violence against healthcare workers on the rise, it has been for years

CAPITAL REGION (WRGB) — Violence against healthcare workers is rising, but is it a result of the pandemic?

According to data by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of attacks, whether verbal or physical, have risen 67-percent.

“Workplace violence is more common by 4 to 5 times in healthcare than in other industries. And about 75% of all workplace assaults happen to healthcare workers,” said Rachel Handler, Executive Director of Behavioral Health at St. Peter’s Health Partners.

“It’s pretty sobering data,” she adds.

CBS6’s Briana Supardi asked her what could be driving numbers up.

“When healthcare workers are intervening with individuals, they’re perhaps at the most vulnerable and trying times of their lives,” said Handler.

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So one could imagine that an unprecedented pandemic didn’t help the situation.

But Handler said that the rise in attacks on healthcare staff isn’t specifically tied to the pandemic.

“This is not a pandemic specific sequelae or secondary outcome,” she says.

“While I don’t have data to say that the pandemic specifically exacerbated it, I would say that the healthcare journey has become more taxing and challenging,” said Handler.

In central New York, arise in physical and verbal attacks on nurses and medical staff at Oneida health prompted the hospital’s President and CEO Gene Morreale to issue a letter telling the community to “control your emotions.”

In the letter, he states that the hospital has seen more than 40 reported incidents over the past year, with the number probably higher since many cases go unreported.

In New York City, while Mount Sinai Hospital hasn’t seen a particular increase in violence within the organization, its President and COO, Dr. David Reich, says crime overall is up.

“We certainly are seeing within society there is more crime. That statistics are up,” said Reich. “ this is a complex urban environment. There are on occasion where we have to work closely with our security team to keep our staff and patients safe.”

Handler says the biggest concern is how this disturbing trajectory will impact another detrimental trend plaguing the healthcare industry.

“It’s exacerbating our staffing crisis that we are currently facing in the COVID pandemic for sure,” she says.