July 24, 2025
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Amid a nationwide increase in workplace violence against health care workers, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center conducted a comprehensive workplace safety review. The results released today show that the hospital system has made meaningful strides in reducing workplace violence with a focus on prevention, education, response and ongoing support. The review details new security screenings using weapons detection systems at hospital public entrances beginning in August, as well as other insights, priorities and safety enhancements. “We’re not immune to the challenges facing many hospitals across the country. We take our commitment to ensuring a safe and secure environment for everyone who comes to the Wexner Medical Center to work, learn or receive care very seriously, and we’re committed to proactively addressing the changing landscape as needs evolve,” said John J. Warner, MD, CEO of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and executive vice president at Ohio State. “As an academic medical center, we are sharing this review to help drive meaningful progress against workplace violence on a local, regional and national level.”
The review was conducted by the medical center’s Workplace Safety Steering Committee, a team of leaders, nurses and support staff that has been focused on improving workplace safety since 2017 and is currently co-chaired by Elizabeth Seely, chief administrative officer – hospital division, and Jillian Maitland, BSN, RN, director of nursing for University Hospital emergency services. The conclusions were shaped by extensive employee input through formal surveys, safety rounding, post-incident debriefs and participation in pilot programs. The committee also continually reviews national benchmarks, including guidance from The Joint Commission and the American Hospital Association and updates recommendations based on ongoing feedback and monitoring to ensure the medical center’s approach aligns with evolving standards and industry best practices.
Nationally, workplace violence in health care settings has been increasing for several years. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health care workers make up 10% of the workforce but experience 48% of all nonfatal injuries due to workplace violence.
Key insights and trends
The committee’s report addresses the growing number of weapons found by metal detectors at the emergency department entrances at University Hospital and East Hospital. In 2024, more than 9,500 weapons were safely prevented from entering the hospitals, including 72 firearms, 6,606 knives/blades, 231 stun guns, 1,888 pepper spray canisters and more than 780 “other” weapons. This category includes dangerous devices such as brass knuckles, chains, utility tools and blunt instruments.
While this demonstrates effective security procedures, the committee recommends even stronger strategies to further enhance safety.
The report also shows that patients or visitors became violent 402 times in 2024, with 81% involving physical assault, such as hitting, kicking or pushing hospital employees. Nurses were involved in 41% of incidents, patient care associates 30% and security officers 23%. The emergency departments remain areas of focus due to the consistent prevalence of workplace violence incidents.
“While these numbers are troubling, we also see progress, suggesting our use of best-practice workplace safety measures such as early intervention, de-escalation strategies and violence prevention efforts are helping. Between 2021 and 2024, calls for security assistance with patient behavior issues dropped 22% and incidents requiring formal reports dropped 30%, when adjusting for differences in total patient volume,” Seely said. “There is more work to be done, but we’re encouraged that our measures are trending in the right direction.”
Recent and upcoming workplace safety actions
The report outlines several steps the medical center has taken in recent years to proactively improve safety and announces new measures underway to address the changing landscape of safety and security needs.
- Security screenings with weapons detection technology will begin the first week of August at public hospital entrances. Announced this spring, the high-throughput technology is similar to the screening systems found at Ohio Stadium and the Schottenstein Center. The first systems will be at Ohio State East Hospital, Brain and Spine Hospital and Harding Hospital, with additional installations to follow at University Hospital, The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, Ross Heart Hospital and Dodd Rehabilitation Hospital. This update is a $9 million annual investment, including the equipment and 60 additional staff to operate it. Once systems are in place at public entrances, similar technologies will be tested at EMS entrances to assess their accuracy and effectiveness compared to current protocols. Outpatient and administrative sites will be evaluated in future phases.
- Updated training includes revised crisis prevention and de-escalation instruction, along with real-time safety coaching on clinical units.
- Ongoing Emergency Department space redesigns to improve safety.
- New visitor management system requiring ID and photo badges for adult visitors at all hospital locations.
- Piloting ID badge duress buttons in high-risk areas.
- Medical Center Security Department has grown 20% in the last two years to 133 staff members.
- Expanded Behavioral Emergency Response Team coverage offers additional peer consultation for caring for disruptive patients.
- Planning improvements to the incident reporting platform to streamline use and tracking abilities.
- Made enhancements to the Patient Safety Flag in the electronic medical record to improve situational awareness of patients with behavioral challenges.
- New signage in hospitals and outpatient facilities clearly states weapons and other forms of violence won’t be tolerated.
- Added a workplace safety officer and ambulatory security supervisor to oversee and support safety operations.
- Redesigned workplace safety intranet site to improve employee access to event reporting, support and other resources.
Throughout this sustained commitment to safety, the medical center has integrated national expertise in health care de-escalation training, architectural design and workplace violence prevention standards.
###
Media Contact: Marti Leitch, 614-293-3737