GREENVILLE, N.C. (WITN) – Governor Roy Cooper has put pen to paper on a bill that requires law enforcement officers to be present at hospitals and emergency departments at all times.

House Bill 125 contains provisions of Pitt County Republican Representative Tim Reeder’s House Bill 809, the Hospital Violence Protection Act.

71% of non-fatal workplace incidents happen in healthcare facilities, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Now, section 8 of House Bill 125, otherwise known as the North Carolina Health and Human Services Workforce Act, went into effect on October 1st. The bill outlines Reeder’s first steps in protecting staff members in North Carolina’s healthcare facilities.

“It calls for every hospital that has an emergency department to do a risk assessment and develop a safety plan to keep our patients and our staff and our family members safe from violence,” said Reeder.

The first risk report and an implemented security are due in October of 2025.

The bill also requires a law enforcement officer to be present unless the hospital determines with local law enforcement that it’s unnecessary.

The bill’s goal is to further protect citizens.

“With the challenges of violence in the workplace; it prevents us as doctors, and nurses, and staff from dedicating our time and energy to the patient when we’re worried about our own safety,” Reeder told WITN.

Pitt County Democratic Representative Gloristine Brown also says, “I just think that maybe having the presence of law enforcement there would deter a person from maybe acting further than what they may if they didn’t see anyone there.”

She says if used in the correct way, it could be a benefit.

“We need to protect everyone because everyone needs to be protected because we are there to serve the citizens there and to take care of them. We can’t do that if they’re distracted from what they’re trying to do,” said Brown.

The bill also assists in differentiating who is causing the violence in order for both patients, families, and staff to stay safe.

“I just think that maybe having the presence of law enforcement there would deter a person from maybe acting further than what they may if they didn’t see anyone there,” said Reeder. “We need to protect everyone because everyone needs to be protected because we are there to serve the citizens there and to take care of them. We can’t do that if they’re distracted from what they’re trying to do”.

According to the bill, any person who assaults a healthcare worker admitting care or service can be charged with a felony.

This is Reeder’s first bill as a freshman representative to get pushed through and signed by the governor.