Pennsylvania’s health care workers, especially those working in our hospitals and emergency departments, deserve to feel safe and respected while devoting their time to helping and healing others. Unfortunately, all too often these extraordinary individuals find themselves the targets of physical violence and verbal abuse. The American Hospital Association reports that two thirds of all emergency department physicians report being assaulted, with a quarter of them experiencing assaults multiple times per week.
 
To make sure our health care workers feel safe and respected, and to attract the best and brightest professionals to our Commonwealth, we will be introducing legislation that will prohibit intimidation of and making threats against health care workers. Similar legislation was recently enacted by our neighbor New Jersey, and organizations like the American Hospital Association and the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania have supported federal legislation that would create penalties for those who knowingly assault and intimidate hospital employees.
 
It is time for Pennsylvania to step up and provide our health care workers with needed protections to help ensure a safe work environment and to add incentives to retain our workforce. We look forward to your support for health care workers across our state.