Oregon Journalism Project: Oregon’s Most Dangerous Job is Not What You Might Expect

In reality, a person in Oregon who works in nursing or at a residential care facility is much more likely to be injured at work than people in those professions.

Ronda Martinez, a caregiver for 29 years at a 24-hour stabilization and crisis unit in Salem for Oregon Human Services, says she has been punched, choked and stabbed while providing care to adults with psychological disorders and developmental disabilities. Each day when she goes to work, Martinez says, she has to be “prepared for war.”

“It affects every day of my life,” she adds. “It's like, what's going to happen today? Am I going to make it home to my family?”

Her experience is not unique. According to 2023 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nursing and residential care facility jobs in Oregon have the highest annual rate of nonfatal workplace injuries — more than a third of all full-time employees each year.

That’s more than six times the nonfatal injury rate for police and more than 10 times the annual rate across all industries in Oregon.

Beyond physical injury, health care workers can also suffer from long-term effects on their mental and emotional well-being.

Martinez says she developed a stress disorder. She can’t hear a car alarm without breaking a sweat; her body enters fight-or-flight mode whenever a family member unexpectedly comes up behind her. 

The lack of education on workplace violence contributes to a high burnout rate for new nurses, says Kevin Mealy, the Oregon Nurses Association’s spokesman. 

Lawmakers passed Senate Bill 537 during the 2025 regular session to improve protections for workers in home, hospitals, hospice and other health care settings.

The law, which goes into effect in 2026, requires companies to educate staff about  workplace violence prevention and to flag dangerous patients, according to the nurses association.

The law won’t change the level of violence at her crisis unit, Martinez realizes. “They will, hopefully, give us the counseling and the treatment we need,” she says.

The Oregon Journalism Project wants to hear from you about your experiences as a health care worker in the state. Please fill out this confidential questionnaire or email Khushboo Rathore at khushboo@oregonjournalismproject.org. 

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This story was produced by the Oregon Journalism Project (oregonjournalismproject.org), a nonprofit investigative newsroom for the state of Oregon.