Until recently, healthcare workers have remained silent about workplace violence, according to an article on the WNYC website.
But groups representing doctors and nurses say while the voluntary safety improvements that some hospitals have enacted are a good first step, more needs to be done.
In California, the nurses' labor union pushed for a law giving OSHA more authority to monitor hospital safety. The group is now backing a similar national effort.
The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act, recently introduced in Congress, would require hospitals to implement plans to prevent violence.