Hospitals spend billions to answer growing threat of violence: report

Dive Brief:

Attempting to prevent, prepare for and recover from violent acts, including assault, murder, suicide and shootings, cost hospitals $18.3 billion in 2023, according to a report by the American Hospital Association released Monday.

Health systems shell out more than $3.6 billion annually on trainings, security and modifications in an effort to subvert violent incidents at their facilities, the AHA said. The sector spends more than four-times that — about $14.7 billion — on post-event costs of violence generally, the lion’s share of which went to covering healthcare costs for fatal and nonfatal injuries.

In a statement accompanying the report, the AHA renewed calls for stronger workplace protections for healthcare workers in light of the findings and urged lawmakers to pa