Sacramento, CA – Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) in California thanked the State Senate today for overwhelmingly passing AB 2975, the Secure Hospitals for All Act, and expressed deep appreciation to Assemblymember Mike Gipson for authoring this vital worker and patient safety legislation. After a concurrence vote in the Assembly, the bill will go to Governor Gavin Newsom for signature.
AB 2975 is designed to bolster security in California’s hospitals by requiring the installation of weapon detection systems at key points where weapons are known to enter facilities, including main public entrances, as well as entrances to the Labor and Delivery and Emergency Departments. Additionally, the bill requires that hospitals utilize non-healthcare workers to conduct searches of patients’ belongings for contraband. SEIU members who work in hospitals have championed this commonsense policy to reduce the potential for life-threatening workplace violence in hospitals, which has steadily increased in recent years.
SEIU California released the following statement from Leovardo Perez, Registered Nurse and President of SEIU 121RN, following passage of the bill:
“With hospital violence at an all-time high, California’s frontline healthcare workers head to work each day with a terrifying thought in the back of their minds: ‘Will I make it home safe to my loved ones tonight?’ By passing AB 2975 today, the State Senate took a concrete step toward creating the hospital safety needed for workers to provide compassionate care and for patients to get well. We urge Governor Newsom to sign this legislation to keep dangerous weapons out of our hospitals so health care workers and patients can focus on healing.”
Background: Workplace violence is a regular occurrence in hospitals, up 5% in 2023, and is currently at an all-time high. Healthcare workers are five times more likely to experience workplace violence than those in other professions, where 75% of annual workplace assaults occur in healthcare settings.
Far too often, healthcare workers are forced to encounter weapons as they carry out their life-saving work, creating deadly hazards for workers and other patients. Healthcare workers, who are not trained in security, are often tasked with carrying out searches of patients’ belongings, which may escalate tension in the carefully maintained patient/care provider dynamic. AB 2975 will require common sense solutions to address this crisis.
