Hospital Workforce
Colorado hospitals are committed to delivering safe, high-quality health care to the patients and communities they serve. Based on the most recent data collected from members, Colorado hospitals and health systems employ and contract with more than 96,000 health care workers.
What You Need to Know: CHA convened a coalition of health care organizations from across the state to address some of the most pressing workforce needs. CHA and its partner organizations have been focusing on: developing an evidence-based approach to long-term workforce pipeline planning and execution; building the resources necessary to support the existing workforce; and leveraging federal dollars to retain current workforce and begin growing pipeline.
2025 Legislation
Senate Bill 25-166 adds a workplace violence metric into the HQIP program and establishes a stakeholder group to work on future legislation and recommend additional metrics, along with potential funding.
Workplace Violence
What You Need to Know:
Violence against health care workers continues to rise, with assaults against those in the profession reaching an all-time high in 2021, according to the most recent survey from the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS) Foundation. Studies show health care workers are five times more likely to be injured than other workers, and other research suggests a nurse is assaulted every 30 minutes on average.
Health care workers deserve a safe place to deliver care.
How Hospitals Are Addressing Violence:
The safety of their patients and staff is the highest priority for every Colorado hospital. All hospitals have violence prevention programs and are required to have worker training programs as a condition of their accreditation. Safety efforts underway include:
- Alarms and monitors
- Security screening and cameras
- Security presence and rounding
- Restricted access to certain areas
- Signage
- Huddles and safety drills
- Peer support and debriefing
- Easy incident reporting
- Paid time off to file appropriate charges
Hospitals are working diligently to address the rise in violence against health care workers. All hospitals have violence prevention programs and are required to have worker training programs as a condition of accreditation. The implementation of alarms and monitors, security screening and cameras, trained security personnel, restricted access areas, signage, incident reporting tools, de-escalation training, and paid time off to file appropriate charges are just some examples of how hospitals are mitigating violence.
Hospitals continually adopt strategies to address the concerning rise of physical and verbal assault against staff, but they cannot solve the problem alone. That’s why CHA is engaged in a stakeholder process to determine how legislation could best support the need to address this issue. Patients deserve a safe place to receive care, and health care workers deserve a safe place to deliver it. It is time for a collaborative approach that ensures those who show up every day to care for Coloradans are protected from violence.
- What Can We Do as a Society to Minimize Violent Behavior in Healthcare?
- Addressing Violence in Colorado Hospitals
- #CultureofCARE campaign
- Workplace Violence Prevention Communications Toolkit
- #CultureofCARE PSA (Feb. 6, 2023)
- #CultureofCARE PSA (Feb. 24, 2023)
- 2022 Healthcare Crime Survey
- Workplace violence in healthcare settings: The risk factors, implications and collaborative preventive measures
- 2022 statistics on healthcare workplace violence
- US healthcare labor market whitepaper
- 92% of healthcare workers experienced workplace violence in April 2022
In 2025, the American Hospital Association commissioned a report on the impact of violence on U.S. hospitals.
Key Findings:
- Violence, including workplace (in-facility) and community violence, abuse, and threatening behavior, is a significant public health issue affecting the U.S. health system and communities.
- This incidence of violence has significantly increased in the U.S. over the past decade, with rising rates of assault, homicide, suicide, and firearm violence, which were further exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- This study sought to estimate the financial costs and other impacts associated with workplace and community violence.
- Hospitals experience substantial financial impacts from violence.
- The total annual financial cost of violence to hospitals in 2023 is estimated at $18.27 billion U.S. dollars (USD).
- Pre-event costs associated with violence in the community and within facilities are estimated at $3.62 billion (USD), primarily for prevention measures.
- Post-event costs for health care, work loss costs, case management, staffing, and infrastructure repair are estimated at $14.65 billion (USD).
- The largest contributor to total annual costs came from post-event health care expenses to treat violent injuries.
- Additional impacts, like public perception, staff recruitment and retention, legal concerns, job satisfaction, and psychological harm to health care workers, are significant but difficult to quantify due to limited data