In what investigators are classifying as an attempted murder-suicide, one security company employee shot another before killing himself shortly after 7 a.m. Monday morning. 

 Approximately 11,370 healthcare and social assistance workers were the victims of workplace violence assaults in 2010 – a 13-percent increase over such assaults in 2009, and many more incidents likely go unreported, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

Given an increase in violence in the hospital setting and continued attention on hospital security programs, there is a need to examine current hospital safety and security practices. 

Depending on the environment you’re in, physical safeguards such as desks, railings and panic buttons can be helpful deterrents. “You don’t want to make it look like a prison, but at the same time, you can make minor modifications that help protect.

The report from June 4, 2014, stated that one USIS employee turned in more than 15,000 investigations in one month, translating to about 21 screens every hour of every day during that month, which has raised red flags.

California Senator Alex Padilla has introduced a bill to address violence against workers at hospitals and health facilities.