New AHA report finds workplace and community violence cost hospitals more than $18 billion annually
June 2, 2025- The American Hospital Association (AHA) released a new, comprehensive report that measures the substantial financial resources hospitals and health systems spend on preventing and responding to violence in their facilities and communities.
The report was prepared for the AHA by Harborview Injury and Prevention Research Center (HIPRC), part of the University of Washington School of Medicine. It analyzed the financial costs and broader impacts of violence and threatening behavior and found that the total financial cost of violence to hospitals in 2023 was estimated at $18.27 billion. These costs include health care treatment for victims, security staffing for health care facilities and violence prevention programs/ training, among other costs.
