HB 2635
Initials AG/JB Page 1 Caucus & COW
ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Fifty-fifth Legislature
Second Regular Session
House: HHS DP 9-0-0-0
HB 2635: health care workers; assault; prevention
Sponsor: Representative Shah, LD 24
Caucus & COW
Overview
Directs health care employers to develop, implement and maintain a written workplace violence
prevention plan. Provides processes, procedures and prohibitions relating to workplace violence
prevention plans, health care workers and employers.
History
A person commits assault by: 1) Intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causing any physical injury
to another person; 2) Intentionally placing another person in reasonable apprehension of
imminent physical injury; or 3) Knowingly touching another person with the intent to injure, insult
or provoke such person (A.R.S. § 13-1203).
Statute outlines various circumstances of when an assault is considered aggravated assault.
These include a person committing the assault knowing or having reason to know that the victim
is a health care practitioner who is certified or licensed as a medical doctor, nurse, physician
assistant or osteopathic physician or surgeon. This does not apply if the person who commits the
assault is seriously mentally ill according to specified criteria or is afflicted with Alzheimer's
disease or related dementia (A.R.S. § 13-1204).
Provisions
1. Requires health care employers no later than July 1, 2023, to develop, implement and
maintain a written workplace violence prevention plan that:
a) Includes components that are specifically tailored to the conditions and hazards of the
health care employer's sites and patient-specific risk factors;
b) Identifies the individual who is responsible for implementing and overseeing the plan;
c) Requires conspicuous posting of signs in public areas throughout a health care employer's
site, including all emergency facilities in a specified size that provide notice that assault
on a health care worker may be prosecuted as a felony;
d) Includes reporting, incident response and post-incident investigation procedures,
including procedures:
i. For health care workers to report workplace violence risk, hazards and incidents;
ii. For health care employers to respond to reports of workplace violence; and
iii. For health care employers to perform a post-incident investigation and debriefing of all
reported incidents of workplace violence with the participation of health care workers;
and
e) Requires health care employers to provide information to health care workers about a
worker's ability to report any assault to law enforcement and, on request, to assist the
worker in reporting the assault. (Sec. 2)
☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal Note HB 2635
Initials AG/JB Page 2 Caucus & COW
2. States each health care employer must make its workplace violence prevention plan always
available to all health care workers and contractors who provide patient care. (Sec. 2)
3. Specifies that as soon as practicable after a workplace violence incident is reported to the
health care employer, they must investigate the incident and:
a) Review the circumstances of the incident;
b) Solicit input from involved health care workers and supervisors about the cause of the
incident and whether further corrective measures could have prevented the incident; and
c) Document the findings, recommendations and corrective measures taken, if applicable,
for each investigation conducted. (Sec. 2)
4. Requires each health care employer to provide training and education to its health care
workers who may be exposed to workplace violence hazards and risks. (Sec 2)
5. Directs each health care employer to maintain:
a) Records relating to each employer's workplace violence prevention plans, including
identifying, evaluating and correcting hazards and risks and training procedures; and
b) An incident log for recording all reported workplace violence incidents which will include
specified information for each incident. (Sec. 2)
6. Stipulates each health care employer must annually evaluate the implantation and
effectiveness of the workplace violence prevention plan, including a review of the violent
incident log and compliance with any training. Requires the evaluation to be documented.
(Sec. 2)
7. Requires the health care employer to adopt a policy that prohibits any person from
discriminating or retaliating against any health care worker for either:
a) Reporting to or seeking assistance or intervention from the employer, law enforcement,
local emergency services or a government agency or participating in an incident
investigation; or
b) Reasonable acting in self-defense or defense of others in response to an imminent threat
of physical harm. (Sec. 2)
8. Prohibits a health care employer from discriminating or retaliating against a health care worker
for either:
a) Reporting to or seeking assistance or intervention from the employer, law enforcement,
local emergency services or a government agency or for exercising any other specified
rights; or
b) Reasonably acting in self-defense or defense of others in response to an imminent threat
of physical harm. (Sec 2)
9. Specifies that these requirements do not affect the legal obligations of a health care employer
and health care worker pursuant to the protection of patient's rights and do not apply to the
Arizona State Hospital (ASH) or any other licensed facility that is under the jurisdiction of the
superintendent of ASH. (Sec. 2)
10. States that a person who knowingly assaults a health care worker engaged in health care
work duties has committed aggravated assault and specifies that this does not apply if the
person who commits the assault does not have the ability to form the culpable mental state
because of a mental disability or because the person is seriously mentally ill. (Sec. 1)
11. Defines terms. (Sec. 1, 2)
12. Makes conforming changes. (Sec. 1)