(BOSTON 7/17/2026) — The Massachusetts Senate acted yesterday to support the safety of frontline health care workers by improving vital security protocols at hospitals and doctors’ offices across the state.

Responding to a troubling spate of violent incidents, the Senate’s legislation would require annual reviews of security protocols and potential risks at health care facilities.

The legislation passed by the Senate, S.3171, also helps law enforcement make timely arrests for assaults at health care facilities, extends new supports to health care employees who are assaulted on the job, and shields victims’ personal information from assailants.

“Reports of violence against nurses and doctors who are assaulted while doing their jobs are coming in from across the Commonwealth. The statistics are staggering – a healthcare worker is assaulted once every 36 minutes, according to one estimate,” said Senator Michael Moore (D-Millbury). “This must end. I’m proud that the Senate is taking steps to strengthen protections for healthcare workers and allow our police to more rapidly respond to violence in hospitals. Doctors and nurses have some of the hardest jobs in our society – it is on us to ensure they can focus on caring for their patients. I’m hopeful that the House will join us to get this important legislation to Governor Healey’s desk as soon as possible.”

Nearly seven out of 10 nurses report having experienced an assault in the workplace, according to data shared by the Massachusetts Nurses Association, 1199SEIU, and the Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association.

The Senate bill backs up law enforcement officers who respond to those incidents by allowing timely, warrantless arrests for line-of-duty assault and battery on a health care employee. This reasonable use of a warrantless arrest, in situations where the officer has probable cause to believe the suspect committed the assault, is similar to existing exceptions to allow timely arrests in domestic violence cases.

Supporting health care employees who are assaulted on the job, the bill requires employers to offer paid leave that covers an employee’s time seeking medical treatment and aiding in the prosecution of their attacker. It would also shield the victim’s personal, residential address on criminal complaints.

Full details of the bill are available in a fact sheet in the Senate’s press room.

Having been passed in the Senate, the bill now goes to the House of Representatives for further consideration.

###