Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association #HAVHope 2025: Massachusetts Hospitals Against Violence
Healthcare is about compassion, healing, and supporting every patient in need. But across Massachusetts and the nation, workplace violence in hospitals threatens that mission every single day.
MHA and our members are committed to protecting the safety and wellbeing of healthcare workers, because safe healthcare facilities mean better care for everyone.
A Violent Incident Every 36 Minutes
Every 36 minutes, a worker in a Massachusetts hospital is subject to an act of violence or a threat. This crisis has grown at an alarming rate in recent years, with healthcare workers experiencing a violent incident at least five times more often than the average private sector worker.
#HAVHope Day (June 6 this year) is a national day of awareness that highlights the urgent need to end violence in healthcare settings. It’s a time to educate our communities, support our workforce, and advance solutions.
A Collaborative Solution: Legislative Action in Massachusetts
Leaders from MHA, the Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA), and 1199SEIU Massachusetts stand in united support of An Act Requiring Health Care Employers to Develop and Implement Programs to Prevent Workplace Violence (H.2655/S.1718), a comprehensive policy reform designed to reduce violence at hospital facilities by:
☑️ Requiring all Massachusetts hospitals to develop a facility-specific risk assessment and then use that assessment to implement a comprehensive program to reduce the risk of workplace violence.
☑️ Engaging the workforce in developing the assessment/program that includes worker training, and provides a formal written violence prevention plan available upon request to all employees/labor organizations.
☑️ Establishing strong enforcement through DPH licensing, regular reporting, and job protections for affected workers that include additional paid leave for assaulted workers.
Join Us
On June 6, stand with MHA and hospitals across the Commonwealth to raise awareness and promote zero tolerance for violence in healthcare. Use the hashtag #HAVHope and be part of the movement for safer, more equitable care.
