by Christian Garzone
13WHAM - Times News Partner

Irondequoit, N.Y. (WHAM) — Daniel Ireland, executive vice president of Rochester Regional Health, got right to the point Wednesday when addressing an alleged assault by a patient against Ehren Strohm, a nurse at Clifton Springs Hospital.

"Violence against health care workers is not acceptable by any means, and it’s a long-standing problem," he said.

Violence against health care workers isn’t just a Rochester Regional Health issue. It’s a nationwide trend.

"People should be able to come to work and not worry about getting struck, hit or assaulted in any way," Ireland said.

A 2018 studytudy by the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics found health care workers are five times likelier to experience violence in the workplace compared to others. In 2024, a poll by the American College of Emergency Physicians found that 91 percent of health care workers experienced violence in the workplace.

"We recognize the world is a very tense place right now, and sometimes that comes out when people are in a really exposed environment, like a hospital," Ireland said.

He encouraged any staff members experiencing violence to speak up.

"We need to be able to react to this and take preventative measures," Ireland said.

Those measures are something Rochester Regional Health has been working on for years, case by case, hospital by hospital, according to Ireland.

"Many of our facilities have panic buttons located in strategic locations," he said.

Rochester General Hospital has a monitoring system called Evolv, a body-scanning device that uses AI to detect any harmful weaponry or objects on visitors.

Ireland said Rochester General Hospital is moving forward with turning security officers into peace officers in 2026.

Safety precautions across the system also include visitor access control, de-escalation training for staff, and the Workplace Violence Committee — led by Amy Welch, director of nursing at Unity Hospital.

“We are able to train more of our staff (in) situational awareness, " said Welch.

She said the course encourages workers to ask things like, "Where are you in the room? Where are you putting yourself between the patient? Is the patient between you and the exit?"

Welch said staff members are asked during times of workplace violence, "How are you doing? Do need a minute? Do you need to step off? Do you need to go home?"

Hospital security teams are very active with the committee, according to Welch, in addition to local law enforcement.

"We have these courses across all of our facilities," including home care spaces, Welch said.

Ireland said keeping staff and patients protected is a paramount.

"It’s a never-ending cycle of all the work we’re doing to try and to evolve to something that will make sure that everyone is kept safe."