A new report from CENTEGIX on healthcare duress alert trends offers insights into the escalation of hospital workplace violence.
Despite increased prioritization of healthcare violence prevention, healthcare workers are still five times more likely to experience violence than the average U.S. worker. Continued violence is also driving away nurses. The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis projects a 10% national RN shortage by 2027, with some regions anticipating shortages of up to 24%.
RELATED ARTICLE: Strategies for De-escalating Workplace Violence in Healthcare Settings
Healthcare workplace violence is also costly, the report notes. The American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Burden of Violence to U.S. Hospitals report estimated $18.27 billion in annual costs tied to violence, including turnover, workers’ compensation, legal fees, and care for injured employees.
To mitigate employee violence, many healthcare facilities have invested in mobile duress alert systems. According to Campus Safety’s 2024 Panic Alarm and Mobile Duress System/App survey, 68% have hospitals have mobile panic button systems on pendants.
Using 2025 alert data from its wearable safety technology, CENTEGIX garnered the following five trends.
1. Duress Is a Daily Reality
In 2025, alerts evened out across all seven days of the week, with only slight dips on Sundays and Mondays. Comparatively, 2024 saw alerts peak on certain days of the week.
“Behavioral escalations are no longer isolated to high-volume days,” the authors wrote. “Safety planning must assume every day is a risk day, with staffing, training, and readiness reflecting that.”
2. Alerts Peak Midday
The report shows alerts tend to peak at 12 p.m., 3 p.m., and 5 p.m., “suggesting patterns tied to patient flow, transitions, and shift overlaps.”
Most strikingly, the authors note, the number of alerts increased by nearly 300% between 8:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.
“For leaders, this underscores the importance of aligning staffing, targeted rounding, deescalation resources, security presence, and response readiness with clearly defined and predictable escalation windows,” the report says.
3. 90% of Alerts Are Individual Threats
Only 10% of alerts in 2025 were triggered for a campus-wide alert, indicating most incidents are localized and involve a single staff member needing support.
RELATED ARTICLE: How Wearable Panic Buttons Will Improve Hospital Workplace Safety in 2026
“This is a powerful indicator that frontline support matters most. The ability to respond quickly to individual incidents prevents escalation into major security events, protecting staff and reducing operational disruption,” the authors wrote. “Sometimes, even just the presence of another person can pause an escalating incident.”
4. Aggression Top Trigger for Staff Alerts
Interpersonal aggression is the primary safety threat in healthcare with 46% of all duress alerts stemming from aggressive or physically threatening behavior.
The second most common trigger are medical events, followed by suspicious behavior, campus threats, and elopement.
5. Most Behavioral Incidents Happen in Hallways
The top location where behavioral alerts were triggered are hallways (42%), followed by patient/exam rooms (27%) and nurse stations (14%). Other notable locations include exterior areas such as parking lots and ambulance bays, reception or registration areas, and waiting rooms.
“Hallways are consistently a high-risk transition point where staff are isolated, visibility may be limited, and visitors can move unpredictably. Nurse stations and exam rooms/patient rooms follow, as they involve frequent contact with distress individuals,” the report says. “For healthcare leaders, this signals a need to invest strategically in coverage around these three zones, ensuring staff can summon help even when isolated.”
