Ohio nurses are being choked, threatened, and assaulted at work — and too many are reaching their breaking point.

A new report from the Ohio Nurses Association surveyed nearly 3,000 health professionals across all 88 Ohio counties. The findings are stark: more than two-thirds of Ohio nurses and health professionals experienced workplace violence in the past year. That includes verbal threats, physical assaults, and in some cases, patients with loaded weapons. At Ohio State University's Wexner Medical Center, a nurse was choked while trying to protect a newborn. At Mount Carmel Grove City, a patient fired a gun taken from a security officer. These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a statewide pattern.

The conditions enabling this violence are well documented. Fewer than 9% of direct care workers say their workplace is adequately staffed. Nearly 60% say safety measures are only sometimes, rarely, or never in place. More than a quarter of respondents say they faced retaliation — or were discouraged from reporting — after experiencing abuse.

And nurses are responding the only way they have left: by leaving. More than half of Ohio nurses say they are now considering walking away from their careers. Every nurse who leaves is one fewer person to care for you, your parents, or your children when it matters most.

Nurses take care of all of us when we are at our most vulnerable. They deserve safe workplaces, adequate staffing, and leadership that takes their safety seriously — not a culture that treats violence as part of the job.

We are calling on Ohio hospital leaders and state lawmakers to act now: enforce safe staffing standards, implement real violence prevention measures, end retaliation against workers who report abuse, and build a healthcare system where nurses can stay for the long haul.

If we don't protect our nurses, we won't have enough of them when we need them most.