On Friday, an individual allegedly entered the lobby of a state psychiatric hospital in Concord, New Hampshire killing a security guard. A state trooper on duty assigned to the facility subsequently shot and killed the gunmen.

In early September, a nurse at Inspira Medical Center in Vineland, New Jersey was nearly injured after a patient shot and killed himself, prompting a lockdown inside the hospital. The incident left healthcare workers, visitors, and patients filled with terror.

The ongoing and escalating violence in and around hospitals in the U.S. is a clear and present danger to hospital staff and visitors. This pandemic of violence represents a public health emergency that demands the attention of our elected leaders.

Over the last few years, the media had been…