Budgeting for Safety: How to Fund Prevention

Incidents of violence in healthcare are on the rise, making workplace and hospital safety a pressing concern for today’s healthcare field. Institutional investments in safety and workplace violence prevention are not a negotiable line item; they are critical. Recent statistics paint a concerning picture: In 2024, 81.6 percent of nurses experienced workplace violence, and as a result of these experiences, over 37 percent considered leaving their profession. Workplace violence has a direct impact on patient care, provider well-being, and well-being, and on employee satisfaction, retention, and recruitment. A comprehensive safety solution can reduce workplace violence, improve employee engagement and retention, and promote a culture of safety. Finding room in the budget to fund safety solutions is a necessity because the cost of inaction is much higher.

Workplace Violence in Healthcare: Tragic and Costly

Injury and loss of life are the most tragic outcomes of workplace violence in healthcare. The emotional toll and psychological impact of these events cannot be fully captured in words or statistics. Employees who have experienced workplace violence face increased risks of mental health struggles like PTSD, depression, anxiety, burnout, and even suicide.

The Wide-Ranging Impacts of Workplace Violence

Workplace violence has additional negative impacts within the broader healthcare community. A 2025 study investigated the financial costs and other significant repercussions associated with community and workplace violence, reporting a lengthy list of impacts including “staff turnover, absenteeism, loss of productivity, high insurance and workers’ compensation costs, and an increased risk of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicide.” Other concerns, which are more difficult to quantify, include legal troubles, public perception, staff recruitment, employee retention, job satisfaction, and psychological harm to healthcare workers.

Workplace Violence Prevention Grant Funding

Prevention is wise, ultimately saving both lives and resources, but it has costs of its own. As leaders strive to implement best practices for prevention, funding can feel like a barrier. Fortunately, because workplace and hospital safety are public concerns, federal funding is available to support hospitals and other healthcare organizations in their efforts to improve safety and prevent violence. Organizations can use this funding to improve staff safety, build emergency response capacity, and invest in new technologies. More specifically, the funds can support investments in staff training, infrastructure improvements, real-time communication tools, and physical security enhancements, such as technology featuring a wearable duress button.

Here are five healthcare funding opportunities organizations can explore when seeking to prevent workplace violence, promote a healthy work environment, and improve hospital safety. 

1. The Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) helps hospitals prepare for and respond to emergencies. Funding may be used to improve safety infrastructure, enhance communication systems, conduct staff training, and strengthen coordination among hospitals, EMS, and public health agencies.
2. The FEMA Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) is for nonprofit hospitals, clinics, and faith-based healthcare providers. NSGP funds can be used to implement physical security measures such as access control systems, video surveillance, panic alert technologies, and staff safety training and emergency drills.
3. FEMA’s Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention (TVTP) Grant Program supports building local community capabilities to prevent acts of targeted violence or terrorism.

Eligible applicants include healthcare providers, nonprofit organizations, and public entities working to promote public safety and behavioral threat prevention. Healthcare organizations can use funds to implement emergency response and preparedness technology, launch behavioral threat assessment programs, and strengthen workplace violence prevention efforts.

1. The USDA Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant Program provides critical funding for infrastructure and technology upgrades for rural hospitals, clinics, and assisted living centers. Funding may be used to purchase, construct, and/or improve essential community facilities, purchase safety technology and equipment, and pay related project expenses.
2. Appropriations Requests: Nonprofit and public healthcare organizations can request direct federal funding for safety and security initiatives through their U.S. Senators or Representatives. These requests are not competitive grants but rather earmarked funds set aside to address local priorities. 

Organizations interested in these opportunities can begin by consulting with their lawmakers and reviewing federal and local grant offerings that match their needs.

The Costs of Negligence

Healthcare organizations are subject to legal requirements and oversight designed to prevent workplace violence, promote workplace and hospital safety, and protect healthcare workers, patients, and others from harm. Noncompliance is incredibly costly to healthcare organizations, and recent events reveal these costs. 

On October 28, 2023, a nurse working for the in-home healthcare company Elara Caring was killed by a patient with a history of violence. Elara Caring faced a wrongful death lawsuit from the victim’s husband and also received citations from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). In September 2025, the state of Connecticut agreed to a settlement of $2.25 million, and Elara Caring will have to pay up to $163,627 in OSHA penalty fines. They will also have to invest in multiple corrective actions, including annual risk assessments, developing and implementing procedures for tracking employees’ locations during home health visits, and providing emergency alert buttons and personal safety devices in specific situations. 

A Florida-based company, Circles of Care, is facing similar consequences. In a 2024 OSHA report, OSHA cited Circles of Care for repeat negligence that resulted in serious harm to staff members by patients. The company now faces $101,397 in proposed OSHA penalties. OSHA Area Office Director Erin Sanchez in Orlando, Florida, said, “Circles of Care’s reluctance to protect its employees from the recognized danger of patient assault is shocking. These attacks often occur suddenly and swiftly, causing serious and, as we’ve seen, fatal harm to workers and leaving their co-workers traumatized. Workplace violence remains a real threat that healthcare employers and employees cannot underestimate. Industry employers like Circles of Care must prepare and train employees properly and practice emergency response actions to combat these incidents and ensure their employees are able to end their shifts safely.”

While the financial repercussions are significant in both cases, the cost to staff members’ well-being cannot be minimized. In addition, companies that face citations and lawsuits must also expend considerable time and energy rebuilding trust and their reputation. 

The conclusion is clear: Negligence is costly. Prevention is essential. 

Cost Reallocation Can Fund Hospital Safety Solutions

Reallocating costs is another way to fund safety enhancements that promote a safe work environment. Funding allocation in healthcare is complex. Decision-makers must weigh multiple considerations, recognizing that funding choices reveal priorities, influence progress, and affect real people. 

Healthcare organizations rely on specific frameworks to help them identify priorities, make fair decisions, and balance limited resources. Decision-making models include:

• A cost-benefit analysis examines and compares the anticipated costs and benefits of specific choices and investments. Leaders weigh questions like, What’s the ultimate cost of promoting hospital safety through preventive measures vs. responding to an event after the fact? 
• Priority-setting frameworks help decision-makers identify their organization’s priorities, like violence prevention, staff safety training, and updating safety technologies. 
• Equity-focused frameworks focus on a fair distribution of funds with the goal of addressing and reducing disparities. In the case of hospital safety, this framework might identify and evaluate which facilities and units are at greatest risk of violence and suggest allocating funds for improvements in those areas. 

Reallocation can take many forms and is unique to each organization’s needs. For example, in order to gain approval for increased funding for safety improvements, a healthcare organization might set goals to lower workers’ compensation costs and minimize turnover, then project those funds to be repaid within a certain amount of time. Alternatively, by understanding needs and risks within the organization, leaders might make the case for reallocating resources toward safety without any additional investment. 

An investment in safety is an investment in people—their health, safety, and well-being. An investment in safety is also an investment in your institution—its progress, reputation, and financial resilience. 

Taking Steps Toward Safety

CENTEGIX® is the industry leader in innovative safety solutions for workplaces of all types, including hospitals and healthcare facilities. The company now protects over 15,000 sites and 15 million people across 49 states through its award-winning CENTEGIX Safety Platform®, which includes CrisisAlert™, Safety Blueprint®, and Visitor Management solutions, solidifying its position as a trusted safety partner. The cloud-based CENTEGIX Safety Platform is the center for layered safety plans. It initiates the fastest response time for emergencies, from the everyday to the extreme, anywhere on campus. 

Contact CENTEGIX to find out how our innovative safety solutions can help empower and protect your organization.