Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB326 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Howard, Klick, Darby, Price, Minjarez, H.B. No. 326
2		-	et al.
	1	+	87R13759 KKR-F
	2	+	By: Howard, Klick, Darby, et al. H.B. No. 326
	3	+	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 326:
	4	+	By: Klick C.S.H.B. No. 326
3	5
4	6
5	7		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	8		AN ACT
7	9		relating to workplace violence prevention in certain health care
8	10		facilities.
9	11		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	12		SECTION 1. Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
11	13		adding Subtitle H to read as follows:
12	14		SUBTITLE H. EMPLOYEES OF HEALTH CARE FACILITIES
13	15		CHAPTER 331. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
14	16		Sec. 331.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
15	17		(1) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
16	18		Commission.
17	19		(2) "Committee" means the workplace violence
18	20		prevention committee or other committee responsible for developing
19	21		a facility's workplace violence prevention plan under Section
20	22		331.002.
21	23		(3) "Facility" means:
22	24		(A) a home and community support services agency
23	25		licensed or licensed and certified under Chapter 142 to provide
24	26		home health services as defined by Section 142.001, and that
25	27		employs at least two registered nurses;
26		-	(B) a hospital licensed under Chapter 241 and a
	28	+	(B) a health care provider that:
	29	+	(i) is certified by the commission to
	30	+	provide services through the home and community-based services
	31	+	(HCS) or Texas home living (TxHmL) waiver program; and
	32	+	(ii) employs at least two registered
	33	+	nurses;
	34	+	(C) a hospital licensed under Chapter 241 and a
27	35		hospital maintained or operated by an agency of this state that is
28	36		exempt from licensing under that chapter;
29		-	(C) a nursing facility licensed under Chapter 242
	37	+	(D) a nursing facility licensed under Chapter 242
30	38		that employs at least two registered nurses;
31		-	(D) an ambulatory surgical center licensed under
	39	+	(E) an ambulatory surgical center licensed under
32	40		Chapter 243;
33		-	(E) a freestanding emergency medical care
	41	+	(F) a freestanding emergency medical care
34	42		facility as defined by Section 254.001; and
35		-	(F) a mental hospital licensed under Chapter 577.
	43	+	(G) a mental hospital licensed under Chapter 577.
36	44		Sec. 331.002. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION COMMITTEE. (a)
37	45		Each facility shall establish a workplace violence prevention
38	46		committee or authorize an existing facility committee to develop
39	47		the workplace violence prevention plan required under Section
40	48		331.004.
41	49		(b) A committee must include at least:
42	50		(1) one registered nurse who provides direct care to
43	51		patients of the facility; and
44	52		(2) one facility employee who provides security
45	53		services for the facility if any and if practicable.
46	54		(c) A health care system that owns or operates more than one
47	55		facility may establish a single committee for all of the system's
48	56		facilities if:
49	57		(1) the committee develops a violence prevention plan
50	58		for implementation at each facility in the system; and
51	59		(2) data related to violence prevention remains
52	60		distinctly identifiable for each facility in the system.
53	61		Sec. 331.003. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION POLICY. (a) A
54	62		facility shall adopt, implement, and enforce a written workplace
55	63		violence prevention policy in accordance with this section to
56	64		protect health care providers and employees from violent behavior
57	65		and threats of violent behavior occurring at the facility.
58	66		(b) The workplace violence prevention policy must:
59	67		(1) require the facility to:
60	68		(A) provide significant consideration of the
61	69		violence prevention plan recommended by the facility's committee;
62	70		and
63	71		(B) evaluate any existing facility violence
64	72		prevention plan;
65	73		(2) encourage health care providers and employees of
66	74		the facility to provide confidential information on workplace
67	75		violence to the committee;
68	76		(3) include a process to protect from retaliation
69	77		facility health care providers or employees who provide information
70	78		to the committee; and
71	79		(4) comply with commission rules relating to workplace
72	80		violence.
73	81		Sec. 331.004. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN. (a) A
74	82		facility shall adopt, implement, and enforce a written workplace
75	83		violence prevention plan in accordance with this section to protect
76	84		health care providers and employees from violent behavior and
77	85		threats of violent behavior occurring at the facility.
78	86		(b) A facility's workplace violence prevention plan must:
79	87		(1) be based on the practice setting;
80	88		(2) adopt a definition of "workplace violence" that
81	89		includes:
82	90		(A) an act or threat of physical force against a
83	91		health care provider or employee that results in, or is likely to
84	92		result in, physical injury or psychological trauma; and
85	93		(B) an incident involving the use of a firearm or
86	94		other dangerous weapon, regardless of whether a health care
87	95		provider or employee is injured by the weapon;
88	96		(3) require the facility to provide at least annually
89	97		workplace violence prevention training or education that may be
90	98		included in other required training or education provided to the
91	99		facility's health care providers and employees, including
92	100		temporary employees, who provide direct patient care;
93	101		(4) prescribe a system for responding to and
94	102		investigating violent incidents or potentially violent incidents
95	103		at the facility;
96	104		(5) address physical security and safety;
97	105		(6) require the facility to solicit information from
98	106		health care providers and employees when developing and
99	107		implementing a workplace violence prevention plan;
100	108		(7) require health care providers and employees to
101	109		report incidents of workplace violence through the facility's
102	110		existing occurrence reporting systems; and
103	111		(8) require the facility to adjust patient care
104	112		assignments, to the extent practicable, to prevent a health care
105	113		provider or employee of the facility from treating or providing
106	114		services to a patient who has intentionally physically abused or
107	115		threatened the provider or employee.
108	116		(c) The written workplace violence prevention plan may
109	117		satisfy the requirements of Subsection (b) by referencing other
110	118		internal facility policies and documents.
111	119		(d) A committee at least annually shall:
112	120		(1) review and evaluate the workplace violence
113	121		prevention plan; and
114	122		(2) report the results of the evaluation to the
115	123		governing body of the facility.
116	124		(e) Each facility shall make available on request an
117	125		electronic or printed copy of the facility's workplace violence
118	126		prevention plan to each health care provider or employee of the
119	127		facility. If the committee determines the plan contains information
120	128		that would pose a security threat if made public, the committee may
121	129		redact that information before providing the plan.
122	130		Sec. 331.005. RESPONDING TO INCIDENT OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE.
123	131		(a) Following an incident of workplace violence, a facility shall
124	132		at a minimum offer immediate post-incident services, including any
125	133		necessary acute medical treatment for each health care provider or
126	134		employee of the facility who is directly involved in the incident.
127	135		(b) A facility may not discourage a health care provider or
128	136		employee from exercising the provider's or employee's right to
129	137		contact or file a report with law enforcement regarding an incident
130	138		of workplace violence.
131	139		(c) A person may not discipline, including by suspension or
132	140		termination of employment, discriminate against, or retaliate
133	141		against another person who:
134	142		(1) in good faith reports an incident of workplace
135	143		violence; or
136	144		(2) advises a health care provider or employee of the
137	145		provider's or employee's right to report an incident of workplace
138	146		violence.
139	147		Sec. 331.006. ENFORCEMENT. An appropriate licensing agency
140	148		may take disciplinary action against a person who violates this
141	149		chapter as if the person violated an applicable licensing law.
142	150		SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2022, a facility
143	151		subject to Chapter 331, Health and Safety Code, as added by this
144	152		Act, shall adopt a workplace violence prevention policy and adopt
145	153		and implement a workplace violence prevention plan in accordance
146	154		with Sections 331.003 and 331.004, Health and Safety Code, as added
147	155		by this Act.
148	156		SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.