NNU’s statement in response to workplace violence tragedies

Staff report

National Nurse magazine - Jan | Feb | March 2025 Issue

In March, after two nurses at HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital in Port Charlotte, Fla. were attacked by a patient, nurses at the facility held a rally to demand management work with nurses to create workplace violence prevention plans, initiate hands-on training for nurses and other hospital personnel, and implement protocols and policies to reduce workplace violence. 

“Today, we have two nurses who are dealing with serious consequences from an attack by a patient after the hospital failed to ensure the patients' and the nurses' safety,” said Valerie Jean, RN in the float pool at Fawcett. “For years, we have called on HCA to work with us to implement workplace violence prevention plans and to address the staffing crisis that creates the conditions for workplace violence. This week’s attack is a stark reminder of the dangers that nurses and patients face when our hospitals fail to invest in training and staffing or fail to implement clear protocols to deal with patients in crisis.”

Fawcett nurses are demanding that management work with nurses to create unit-specific workplace violence prevention plans; implement clear reporting mechanisms for workplace violence incidents; and institute hands-on deescalation training for nurses and other staff.

 “We know that nurses are facing workplace violence on a daily basis, which is exacerbated by poor staffing,” said Janet Mayl, a registered nurse in the post-anesthesia care unit. “No one is safe in our hospitals when nurses are not safe. We must demand that HCA implement protocols and policies designed to create safe, healing spaces in our hospital. We know that workplace violence prevention plans work, so that is why we are demanding HCA work with us to create plans immediately.”

The Fawcett attack came on the heels of multiple incidents (at facilities where NNU affiliates do not represent nurses) that grabbed headlines nationwide. In February, at HCA Florida Palms West Hospital in Loxahatchee, Fla., a nurse was brutally beaten by a patient. At UPMC Memorial in York, Penn., a visitor brought a gun to the hospital, killing one police officer and shooting a doctor, nurse, custodian, and two other police officers. 

In response to those tragedies, National Nurses United (NNU), issued the following statement: “We strongly condemn the senseless, unacceptable violence at UPMC Memorial and HCA Florida Palms West Hospital. Our hearts are with the victims, and all health care professionals, emergency responders, patients, community members, and their families who have been impacted.

“Hospitals should be sites of healing and, critically, employers must do their part to ensure safe staffing and prevent conditions that lead to workplace violence...All incidents of workplace violence are unacceptable, as is the hospital industry’s failure to prioritize the safety of their patients and staff over their bottom line. Extensive research and scientific evidence show that unit-specific workplace violence prevention plans created with the expertise of direct care nurses and other health care workers substantially decrease violent incidents and increase safety for staff and patients. Safe staffing is a key foundation for effective workplace violence prevention plans.

“Preventing violence in hospitals and health care settings must be a national priority. As union nurses and patient advocates, through collective bargaining and legislative advocacy, NNU members have been documenting and pushing back on the industry’s failure to act. For years, NNU has endorsed federal legislation and petitioned for national workplace regulatory standards that mandate accountability from the hospital industry. This builds on our successful efforts to pass S.B. 1299 in California, which set a model for the nation by requiring California health care employers to have comprehensive, unit-specific workplace violence prevention plans. NNU’s efforts to fight for the same standard of protection for all nurses will continue this year.”