Akron committee backs ordinance amendment to add healthcare workers to menacing law

The Public Safety Committee voted to suspend the rules and forward an ordinance that would add healthcare workers to the list of protected classes under Akron Codified Ordinance 135.06, the city menacing ordinance, after a presentation from local health systems and testimony from a nurse who said she had been assaulted on the job.

Supporters told the committee that workplace violence against health care staff is rising and asked the city to increase protections at the local level. Representatives from Cleveland Clinic and Summa Health described industrywide increases in assaults and urged the committee to adopt the change. The committee approved a motion to suspend the rules and give a favorable report to council.

The request came after a presentation by Brittany Zahringer of the mayor's office and healthcare representatives, including Dallas Moyer of the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Workplace Violence Prevention, and Robin Brown and Tracy Carter from Summa Health. They cited national and local data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures showing healthcare workers are about five times more likely than workers in other industries to experience workplace violence, Press Ganey data that the presenters described as “more than two nurses assaulted every hour,” and a 2024 American College of Emergency Physicians survey finding 91 percent of emergency physicians reported they or a colleague had been a victim of violence in the past year. Locally, the presenters said reported workplace violence incidents at Akron General have more than doubled since 2022 and reports at Summa Health increased by about 68 percent.

The panel asked council to amend the city menacing ordinance to add healthcare workers so that menacing when directed at a healthcare worker carries heightened misdemeanor penalties. Tracy Carter and other presenters also referenced recent state-level action. They noted House Bill 452, the Healthcare Workplace Safety Act, which the presenters said took effect in January 2025 and requires comprehensive workplace violence prevention plans, training, reporting and security measures at health care employers; the local ordinance amendment was presented as a complementary local protection.

Nurse Alyssa LaBaron gave first-person testimony about multiple on-the-job assaults at Akron-area emergency departments, describing one incident in which a patient kicked her in the abdomen and a separate incident in which a patient struck her chest; she said officers encouraged her to press charges but that follow-up communication from prosecutors was lacking. LaBaron said coworkers urged her to pursue charges and described frustration with how cases were handled.

Committee members expressed unanimous support during the meeting. Councilman Lombardo said approving the ordinance “is the easiest thing to do.” Councilwoman Davis suggested exploring mandatory jail time as part of debate on penalties, and Councilman Kammer asked whether the ordinance’s definition of “health care worker” would be broad enough to include dentists and home-health providers; a law department representative (Anziolani) said the drafted definition was intended to be broad and to cover those settings. The law department representative also said the enhanced penalty would be an M1 misdemeanor—the highest misdemeanor level available under the city’s penal framework.

The committee made a motion to suspend the rules and issue a favorable report; the motion carried on a voice vote with no opposition recorded. The ordinance will be placed on the council agenda for consideration by the full council.

The presenters asked the city to move quickly, saying local action signals support for staff safety and can complement state and federal efforts to reduce assaults on health care workers.