Earlier this year, violence in health care facilities became a local reality here in central Pennsylvania (see Officer Killed In UPMC Memorial Hospital Shooting, Hostage Situation; Multiple Injured). But this tragedy at our local hospital is unfortunately just an example of a larger trend.

In a recent survey of health care workers—The State Of Healthcare Worker Safety—43% reported having experienced a physical assault by a consumer. In addition, 85% have experienced verbal harassment from consumers; 48% have experienced drug-related aggression from consumers; 21% have experienced aggression from a consumer toward another consumer; and 8% have been in an active shooter situation. Given that, it is not surprising that 20% of female health care workers and 13% of male health…