81R5164 TJS-F
By: Thompson H.B. No. 2597
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to safe patient handling and health care worker injury
prevention policies for certain hospitals.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 266 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 266. SAFE PATIENT HANDLING AND HEALTH CARE WORKER INJURY
PREVENTION
Sec. 266.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Health care worker" means a person who furnishes
health care services in direct patient care situations under a
license, certificate, or registration issued by this state or a
person providing direct patient care in the course of a training or
educational program.
(2) "Zero-lift policy" means a policy designed to
promote patient safety and reduce back and musculoskeletal injury
among health care workers by replacing unassisted manual lifting,
repositioning, and transferring of patients with special
procedures, including the use of body mechanics techniques, special
devices or equipment, or specialized lift teams as needed.
Sec. 266.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies to a
hospital owned and operated by a municipality or county or jointly
by a municipality and county.
Sec. 266.003. PATIENT HANDLING AND INJURY PREVENTION. (a)
A hospital to which this chapter applies shall implement a safe
patient handling and health care worker injury prevention policy.
At a minimum, the policy shall include:
(1) a zero-lift policy, based on generally accepted
occupational and safety guidelines;
(2) a training program to educate health care workers
employed by the hospital in the zero-lift policy procedures;
(3) special additional training requiring health care
workers who participate in specialized lift teams to demonstrate
proficiency in the zero-lift policy procedures; and
(4) a needs-assessment procedure based on generally
accepted occupational safety guidelines for use in determining when
the lifting, repositioning, or transfer of a patient has the
potential to place the patient or a health care worker at high risk
of injury and requires the use of zero-lift policy procedures.
(b) A health care worker may, without using zero-lift policy
procedures, lift, reposition, or transfer a patient who, according
to the hospital's needs-assessment procedure, does not present a
significant risk of injury to the patient or a health care worker
not using zero-lift policy procedures.
(c) Notwithstanding this section, a health care worker may
not use zero-lift techniques, devices, or equipment to lift,
reposition, or transfer a patient if the patient's condition or
medical status specifically contraindicates doing so.
(d) This section does not prevent a health care worker who
participates in a specialized lift team from performing other
duties during the same shift.
Sec. 266.004. RETALIATION PROHIBITED. A hospital to which
this section applies may not suspend, terminate, or otherwise
discipline or discriminate against a health care worker who refuses
to lift, reposition, or transfer a patient without the use of
zero-lift techniques, devices, or equipment due to concerns about
the risk of injury to the patient or a health care worker.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.