Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2597 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R5164 TJS-F
2	2	By: Thompson H.B. No. 2597
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to safe patient handling and health care worker injury
8	8	prevention policies for certain hospitals.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Chapter 266 to read as follows:
12	12	CHAPTER 266. SAFE PATIENT HANDLING AND HEALTH CARE WORKER INJURY
13	13	PREVENTION
14	14	Sec. 266.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
15	15	(1) "Health care worker" means a person who furnishes
16	16	health care services in direct patient care situations under a
17	17	license, certificate, or registration issued by this state or a
18	18	person providing direct patient care in the course of a training or
19	19	educational program.
20	20	(2) "Zero-lift policy" means a policy designed to
21	21	promote patient safety and reduce back and musculoskeletal injury
22	22	among health care workers by replacing unassisted manual lifting,
23	23	repositioning, and transferring of patients with special
24	24	procedures, including the use of body mechanics techniques, special
25	25	devices or equipment, or specialized lift teams as needed.
26	26	Sec. 266.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies to a
27	27	hospital owned and operated by a municipality or county or jointly
28	28	by a municipality and county.
29	29	Sec. 266.003. PATIENT HANDLING AND INJURY PREVENTION. (a)
30	30	A hospital to which this chapter applies shall implement a safe
31	31	patient handling and health care worker injury prevention policy.
32	32	At a minimum, the policy shall include:
33	33	(1) a zero-lift policy, based on generally accepted
34	34	occupational and safety guidelines;
35	35	(2) a training program to educate health care workers
36	36	employed by the hospital in the zero-lift policy procedures;
37	37	(3) special additional training requiring health care
38	38	workers who participate in specialized lift teams to demonstrate
39	39	proficiency in the zero-lift policy procedures; and
40	40	(4) a needs-assessment procedure based on generally
41	41	accepted occupational safety guidelines for use in determining when
42	42	the lifting, repositioning, or transfer of a patient has the
43	43	potential to place the patient or a health care worker at high risk
44	44	of injury and requires the use of zero-lift policy procedures.
45	45	(b) A health care worker may, without using zero-lift policy
46	46	procedures, lift, reposition, or transfer a patient who, according
47	47	to the hospital's needs-assessment procedure, does not present a
48	48	significant risk of injury to the patient or a health care worker
49	49	not using zero-lift policy procedures.
50	50	(c) Notwithstanding this section, a health care worker may
51	51	not use zero-lift techniques, devices, or equipment to lift,
52	52	reposition, or transfer a patient if the patient's condition or
53	53	medical status specifically contraindicates doing so.
54	54	(d) This section does not prevent a health care worker who
55	55	participates in a specialized lift team from performing other
56	56	duties during the same shift.
57	57	Sec. 266.004. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. A hospital to which
58	58	this section applies may not suspend, terminate, or otherwise
59	59	discipline or discriminate against a health care worker who refuses
60	60	to lift, reposition, or transfer a patient without the use of
61	61	zero-lift techniques, devices, or equipment due to concerns about
62	62	the risk of injury to the patient or a health care worker.
63	63	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
64	64	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
65	65	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
66	66	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
67	67	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.