Hospital security grant bill advances in Pennsylvania House
A bill that would provide grants to hospitals to upgrade security advanced out of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives’ health committee Tuesday.
If it makes it way through the General Assembly and is signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro, it would create a Hospital Security Grant Fund for nonprofit hospitals with documented security needs. The hospitals would be able to apply for a maximum of $150,000 in grants every year, and the funds could be used for items like trauma kits and metal detectors, or undertaking a threat assessment.
The House bill was sponsored by state Rep. Jason Ortitay, a Cecil Republican who represents the 46th Legislative District, which includes northern parts of Washington County and portions of southern Allegheny County.
“Sadly, doctors, nurses and other health care staff are facing more and more threats and issues with workplace violence within the workplace,” Ortitay said in a statement. “We crafted this legislation to hopefully keep these professionals safe and lessen the stressors that contribute to employee burnout.”
State Rep. Tom Mehaffie, a Dauphin County Republican, said lawmakers began talking about a potential grant program in February 2025, after a mass shooting at UPMC Memorial Hospital in York claimed the life of a police officer and left seven other people injured.
In this region, a North Charleroi man was arrested in April after he allegedly punched a doctor and two security guards at Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital.
Mehaffie said, “Staff should be able to better focus on patient care rather than vitriol, physical attacks and fear. None of these passionate, talented workers joined the industry with an expectation they would be unsafe.”
Last November, nurses and hospital workers launched a petition asking that health care systems in Pennsylvania put more money in security measures and staff safety following an attack in the emergency room of UPMC Altoona that left a nurse with multiple injuries, including a cracked skull and a brain bleed.
The American Hospital Association reported last year that violent incidents had gone up significantly at U.S. hospitals since 2015, with increasing rates of gun violence and assault, all of which were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.