Duke Health makes safety changes to curb rise in violence at hospitals
Duke Health is increasing its security at several hospital locations after a rise in violence at hospitals across the country.
The health care system is adding a weapons detection system at Duke Regional, Duke University and Duke Raleigh hospitals.
“They’re designed to detect firearms … moderately-sized knives and other weapons,” said Duke Health chief employee experience officer Ian Brown. “So, it’s a system that I believe is uniquely built to serve our needs.”
The way people enter Duke hospitals won’t change much, but the technology getting installed will help security keep people safe. Next week, the hospitals will install the new weapons detections systems.
“We believe it's important to us in the healing environment that we provide, for the care team to feel safe,” Brown said.
In an April 2022 survey by National Nurses United, 48% of 2,575 responding nurses reported an increase in workplace violence — more than double the percentage from a year earlier.
Duke Health has also added security, made fewer entrances accessible to visitors and posted signage to warn visitors and patients that aggressive behavior will not be tolerated. Employees are also receiving more training on de-escalation tactics.
“Those are some of the things that we're doing in response to that … we're just doubling our efforts to make sure that that continues to be the case,” Brown said.
In 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found hospital workers are five times more likely to experience workplace violence than employees in all other industries.
