Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4110 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R5087 CJC-F
2	2	By: Dutton H.B. No. 4110
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to implementation of a workplace violence prevention plan
8	8	in certain hospitals; providing an administrative penalty.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 311, Health and Safety Code, is amended
11	11	by adding Subchapter G to read as follows:
12	12	SUBCHAPTER G. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN
13	13	Sec. 311.101. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
14	14	(1) "Department" means the Department of State Health
15	15	Services.
16	16	(2) "Executive commissioner" means the executive
17	17	commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission.
18	18	(3) "Hospital" means:
19	19	(A) a general hospital or special hospital
20	20	licensed under Chapter 241 or exempt from licensure under Section
21	21	241.004(3); or
22	22	(B) a private mental hospital licensed under
23	23	Chapter 577.
24	24	Sec. 311.102. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN. (a) The
25	25	executive commissioner by rule shall establish policies and
26	26	procedures to require each hospital to develop and implement a
27	27	workplace violence prevention plan to protect health care providers
28	28	and hospital employees from violent behavior occurring at the
29	29	hospital.
30	30	(b) In establishing the policies and procedures required
31	31	under Subsection (a), the executive commissioner shall:
32	32	(1) adopt a definition of "workplace violence" that
33	33	must include:
34	34	(A) an act of physical force by a hospital
35	35	patient or a person accompanying the patient against a health care
36	36	provider or hospital employee that results in, or is likely to
37	37	result in, physical injury, psychological trauma, or stress,
38	38	regardless of whether the health care provider or hospital employee
39	39	sustains an actual injury; and
40	40	(B) an incident involving the use of a firearm or
41	41	other dangerous weapon, regardless of whether a health care
42	42	provider or hospital employee is injured by the weapon;
43	43	(2) prescribe minimum standards for a hospital
44	44	workplace violence prevention plan that must:
45	45	(A) require that a hospital's health care
46	46	providers, permanent employees, and, if applicable, temporary
47	47	employees, who provide direct patient care receive the training
48	48	described by Subsection (c)(1) at least annually;
49	49	(B) prescribe a system for responding to and
50	50	investigating violent incidents or potentially violent incidents
51	51	at a hospital;
52	52	(C) address factors that may increase or decrease
53	53	incidents of workplace violence at a hospital, including:
54	54	(i) the hospital's staffing plans and
55	55	patient classification systems;
56	56	(ii) the hospital's security or emergency
57	57	response system, including the alarm system, an alert system, and
58	58	the availability of security personnel;
59	59	(iii) security risks associated with public
60	60	access to specific areas of the hospital and the area surrounding
61	61	the hospital; and
62	62	(iv) security concerns associated with
63	63	particular types of hospital employment, equipment, and
64	64	facilities; and
65	65	(D) require a hospital to solicit input from
66	66	health care providers, hospital employees, and, if applicable, the
67	67	provider's and employee's collective bargaining agents, when
68	68	developing and implementing a workplace violence prevention plan;
69	69	and
70	70	(3) establish criteria to ensure that a workplace
71	71	violence prevention plan developed by a hospital is suitable given
72	72	the hospital's needs and resources.
73	73	(c) The department shall:
74	74	(1) develop a workplace violence prevention training
75	75	program designed to educate health care providers and hospital
76	76	employees about the following topics:
77	77	(A) recognizing the potential for violence;
78	78	(B) appropriately responding to violent
79	79	incidents;
80	80	(C) seeking assistance to prevent or to respond
81	81	to a violent incident;
82	82	(D) reporting violent incidents to appropriate
83	83	law enforcement authorities; and
84	84	(E) identifying the resources that are available
85	85	to health care providers and hospital employees subjected to a
86	86	violent incident, including critical incident stress debriefing
87	87	and other employee assistance programs; and
88	88	(2) require each hospital to electronically submit the
89	89	hospital's workplace violence prevention plan to the department
90	90	each year for review to ensure the plan remains effective and
91	91	appropriate for that hospital.
92	92	Sec. 311.103. ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF PLAN BY
93	93	HOSPITAL. The governing body of a hospital shall:
94	94	(1) adopt and implement a workplace violence
95	95	prevention plan that meets the minimum standards prescribed by
96	96	Section 311.102;
97	97	(2) electronically submit the plan to the department
98	98	each year for review by the department; and
99	99	(3) if applicable, make changes requested by the
100	100	department in response to the department's review of the plan.
101	101	Sec. 311.104. DEPARTMENT REVIEW. (a) The department shall
102	102	review each hospital's workplace violence prevention plan
103	103	submitted once a year under Section 311.103 to ensure the plan
104	104	remains effective and appropriate for that hospital.
105	105	(b) The department may require that a hospital amend a
106	106	provision of the hospital's workplace violence prevention plan if
107	107	the department determines that the plan does not meet the minimum
108	108	requirements prescribed by Section 311.102 or is no longer
109	109	effective and appropriate for that hospital.
110	110	Sec. 311.105. POSTING REQUIREMENT. (a) The governing body
111	111	of a hospital shall require notice to be posted in a conspicuous
112	112	place in each unit or area of the hospital for view by the staff that
113	113	summarizes the hospital's workplace violence prevention plan.
114	114	(b) The executive commissioner by rule shall prescribe the
115	115	form of the notice required by this section.
116	116	Sec. 311.106. RECORDS OF VIOLENT INCIDENTS; REPORTING
117	117	REQUIREMENT. (a) A hospital shall:
118	118	(1) retain, for a period of at least five years, a
119	119	written record of each incident of workplace violence that occurs
120	120	in or near the hospital and that is reported to the governing body
121	121	of the hospital, regardless of whether a health care provider or
122	122	hospital employee sustains an actual injury resulting from the
123	123	violent incident; and
124	124	(2) report an incident described by Subdivision (1) to
125	125	the department:
126	126	(A) within 24 hours, if the incident involves the
127	127	use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon or presents an urgent
128	128	threat to the health, safety, or welfare of hospital personnel; or
129	129	(B) within 72 hours, for all other incidents.
130	130	(b) Not later than January 31 of each year, the department
131	131	shall prepare a summary report relating to incidents of workplace
132	132	violence at hospitals and post that report on the department's
133	133	Internet website. The department shall ensure that the report does
134	134	not contain personally identifiable information of any individual.
135	135	The summary report must include:
136	136	(1) the total number of reports of incidents of
137	137	workplace violence at hospitals the department received under
138	138	Subsection (a)(2) during the preceding year;
139	139	(2) the identity of each hospital that submitted a
140	140	report described by Subdivision (1);
141	141	(3) a description of the outcome of any inspection or
142	142	investigation related to a report described by Subdivision (1);
143	143	(4) whether the department identified any violations
144	144	of law or department rules during the inspection or investigation
145	145	or imposed a sanction as a result of the inspection or violation;
146	146	and
147	147	(5) any recommendations the department may have to
148	148	prevent future incidents of workplace violence at hospitals.
149	149	Sec. 311.107. ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTY. The commissioner of
150	150	state health services may assess an administrative penalty as
151	151	provided by Section 241.059 against a hospital, including a private
152	152	mental hospital licensed under Chapter 577, that violates this
153	153	subchapter.
154	154	Sec. 311.108. ASSISTANCE OF TEXAS WORKFORCE COMMISSION.
155	155	The department may request the assistance of the Texas Workforce
156	156	Commission in performing a duty under this subchapter. The
157	157	commission shall provide the requested assistance.
158	158	Sec. 311.109. RULES. The executive commissioner shall
159	159	adopt rules necessary to implement this subchapter.
160	160	SECTION 2. (a) Not later than December 1, 2015, the
161	161	executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
162	162	shall adopt rules and minimum standards for a hospital workplace
163	163	violence prevention plan as required by Subchapter G, Chapter 311,
164	164	Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
165	165	(b) Not later than March 1, 2016, a hospital shall adopt and
166	166	implement a workplace violence prevention plan developed by the
167	167	hospital in accordance with the rules and minimum standards adopted
168	168	by the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services
169	169	Commission and submit the plan to the Department of State Health
170	170	Services for review as required by Section 311.103, Health and
171	171	Safety Code, as added by this Act.
172	172	(c) In each year after 2016, a hospital shall submit the
173	173	hospital's workplace violence prevention plan to the Department of
174	174	State Health Services for review, as required by Section 311.103,
175	175	Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, on January 1. If the
176	176	department notifies a hospital that the hospital's plan must be
177	177	amended, the hospital must submit the amended plan to the
178	178	department not later than May 1.
179	179	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.