ATLANTA, GA --  CENTEGIX, safety solutions for workplaces company, released its 2026 Healthcare Workforce Safety Report, a survey of 639 healthcare workers that delivers important insights and perspectives for safety and security leaders within healthcare organizations.

The survey, conducted in January 2026, included healthcare workers who interact with patients, family members, or visitors at least once per week in a healthcare facility. 

The findings highlight an urgent and ongoing need for healthcare organizations to strengthen workplace security measures and training, as healthcare workers continue to experience violence. Currently 61 percent of healthcare workers feel their organization’s safety efforts do not demonstrate a strong concern for their security, and only 36 percent received both safety training and drill practice in the past year.

Strengthening healthcare worker protections is critical not only for supporting the workforce and ensuring high-quality patient care, but also for addressing the industry’s ongoing personnel shortages. Today, 48 percent of healthcare workers say safety concerns affect their ability to provide compassionate care, and 54 percent say staff safety measures are a top priority when considering a job.

Other key findings include:

Healthcare workers are experiencing alarming levels of workplace violence. Over two-thirds (68 percent) of healthcare workers have personally experienced one or more violent incidents in the past year, and nearly three-quarters (74 percent) have witnessed one or more incidents. 

Workplace security measures should be shaped by layered solutions – a combination of people and technology. When asked what measures would make them feel most safe during their workday, healthcare workers ranked security personnel highest (55 percent), followed by user-activated wearable duress buttons (42 percent) and video monitoring and security cameras (30 percent).

Access to safety solutions drives worker confidence and quality patient care. Employees equipped with wearable duress buttons demonstrated 12 percent higher perceptions of organizational support, 19 percent greater feelings of protection, and 25 percent stronger confidence in their organization’s response to active-shooter situations compared to those without a wearable duress button. Additionally, 45 percent of workers with wearable duress buttons said access to the technology improves their ability to provide quality care.

Healthcare workers don’t want to be surveilled. Nearly 70 percent of respondents said they would prefer a wearable duress button that shares their location only when they actively trigger an alert for help, rather than one that continuously tracks their location. 

Training and readiness gaps are significant. Just 36 percent of healthcare workers reported receiving both safety training and drill practice in the past year, and 15 percent reported receiving neither.

“While April marks Workplace Violence Prevention Month, protecting and supporting healthcare workers is a year-round priority,” said Andrea Greco, SVP of Healthcare Safety at CENTEGIX. “Amid the industry’s ongoing workforce crisis, healthcare security leaders have reached a critical point: when workforce safety isn’t prioritized, the consequences extend beyond staffing shortages and burnout to impact the quality of patient care. There has never been a more important time to rethink safety and security plans, and implement layered approaches that ensure readiness and response capabilities meet both current and future needs.”

The findings reveal key ways healthcare organizations can better support and protect their workforce, including: 

Adopting holistic, layered approaches to safety plans, understanding that there is no one-size-fits-all approach. 

Investing in solutions that make healthcare workers feel safe, enable faster response times, and support workers in providing quality patient care. 

Prioritizing worker privacy considerations to support successful safety device adoption and implementation.

Providing hands-on, scenario-based training that captures the full scope of workplace violence. 

To download the report, please visit: https://www.centegix.com/healthcare-workforce-safety-report-2026/ 

NOTE: All percentages have been rounded to the nearest whole number.