Visitors heading into Bristol Regional Medical Center in Bristol, Tenn., now walk through weapons detection first. Ballad Health began activating the systems Wednesday, Nov. 11, at its hospitals across the region, as the health system responds to a rise in violence against healthcare workers.
The equipment sits at designated entrances to inpatient facilities and is meant to catch guns and knives before they reach patient care areas. People who come in through a covered door are routed through the scanner. Ballad says that in many cases people can pass without emptying pockets or taking off their belongings, and if something sets off the system, security staff may screen further.
The health system points to its own numbers. Ballad recorded 1,541 workplace violence incidents in 2025, an increase of nearly 19% from the year before. Random bag checks at three of its hospitals, Bristol Regional, Johnson City Medical Center and Holston Valley, turned up 318 weapons over 12 checks, including 65 guns and 218 knives.
The rollout follows an incident at Holston Valley, where a patient fired a gun inside the hospital and walked into a hallway holding it. Hospital security and Kingsport police responded, and no one was hurt. Ballad described the screening as part of safety work that was already planned.
Ballad asks visitors to keep guns, knives and similar items out of the building and to budget extra minutes at the entrance. A carry permit does not exempt anyone from that rule, though law officers on official duty are the exception. People who use wheelchairs, walkers or other mobility equipment should tell the security officer, who may check them with a handheld detector.
Screening applies to emergency departments too, but Ballad says care comes first and the process will not interrupt active emergency treatment. If someone arrives needing emergency care while armed and cannot take the weapon back to a vehicle, security may secure and store it.
The detectors are one piece of a broader safety effort the system calls Call Early. Call Often. It adds de-escalation training for staff, electronic record alerts that flag past aggressive behavior, new signs about respectful conduct, a review of visitor identification, more security resources, including trained canines at more locations, and changes to make reporting easier. Anyone with a safety concern at Bristol Regional can reach hospital security at 423-387-1799.
Filed under: Bristol TN Health News
