Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB112 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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1	1	88R1307 KKR-F
2	2	By: Howard, Oliverson, Rogers, Klick, Bonnen, H.B. No. 112
3	3	et al.
4	4
5	5
6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to workplace violence prevention in certain health
9	9	facilities.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is amended by
12	12	adding Subtitle H to read as follows:
13	13	SUBTITLE H. HEALTH FACILITY EMPLOYEES
14	14	CHAPTER 331. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION
15	15	Sec. 331.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
16	16	(1) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services
17	17	Commission.
18	18	(2) "Committee" means the workplace violence
19	19	prevention committee or other committee responsible for developing
20	20	a facility's workplace violence prevention plan under Section
21	21	331.002.
22	22	(3) "Facility" means:
23	23	(A) a home and community support services agency
24	24	licensed or licensed and certified under Chapter 142 to provide
25	25	home health services as defined by Section 142.001 that employs at
26	26	least two registered nurses;
27	27	(B) a hospital licensed under Chapter 241 and a
28	28	hospital maintained or operated by an agency of this state that is
29	29	exempt from licensing under that chapter;
30	30	(C) a nursing facility licensed under Chapter 242
31	31	that employs at least two registered nurses;
32	32	(D) an ambulatory surgical center licensed under
33	33	Chapter 243;
34	34	(E) a freestanding emergency medical care
35	35	facility as defined by Section 254.001; and
36	36	(F) a mental hospital licensed under Chapter 577.
37	37	Sec. 331.002. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION COMMITTEE. (a)
38	38	Each facility shall establish a workplace violence prevention
39	39	committee or authorize an existing facility committee to develop
40	40	the workplace violence prevention plan required under Section
41	41	331.004.
42	42	(b) A committee must include at least:
43	43	(1) one registered nurse who provides direct care to
44	44	patients of the facility; and
45	45	(2) one facility employee who provides security
46	46	services for the facility if any and if practicable.
47	47	(c) A health care system that owns or operates more than one
48	48	facility may establish a single committee for all of the system's
49	49	facilities if:
50	50	(1) the committee develops a violence prevention plan
51	51	for implementation at each facility in the system; and
52	52	(2) data related to violence prevention remains
53	53	distinctly identifiable for each facility in the system.
54	54	Sec. 331.003. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION POLICY. (a) A
55	55	facility shall adopt, implement, and enforce a written workplace
56	56	violence prevention policy in accordance with this section to
57	57	protect health care providers and employees from violent behavior
58	58	and threats of violent behavior occurring at the facility.
59	59	(b) The workplace violence prevention policy must:
60	60	(1) require the facility to:
61	61	(A) provide significant consideration of the
62	62	violence prevention plan recommended by the facility's committee;
63	63	and
64	64	(B) evaluate any existing facility violence
65	65	prevention plan;
66	66	(2) encourage health care providers and employees of
67	67	the facility to provide confidential information on workplace
68	68	violence to the committee;
69	69	(3) include a process to protect from retaliation
70	70	facility health care providers or employees who provide information
71	71	to the committee; and
72	72	(4) comply with commission rules relating to workplace
73	73	violence.
74	74	Sec. 331.004. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN. (a) A
75	75	facility shall adopt, implement, and enforce a written workplace
76	76	violence prevention plan in accordance with this section to protect
77	77	health care providers and employees from violent behavior and
78	78	threats of violent behavior occurring at the facility.
79	79	(b) A facility's workplace violence prevention plan must:
80	80	(1) be based on the practice setting;
81	81	(2) adopt a definition of "workplace violence" that
82	82	includes:
83	83	(A) an act or threat of physical force against a
84	84	health care provider or employee that results in, or is likely to
85	85	result in, physical injury or psychological trauma; and
86	86	(B) an incident involving the use of a firearm or
87	87	other dangerous weapon, regardless of whether a health care
88	88	provider or employee is injured by the weapon;
89	89	(3) require the facility to provide at least annually
90	90	workplace violence prevention training or education that may be
91	91	included in other required training or education provided to the
92	92	facility's health care providers and employees, including
93	93	temporary employees, who provide direct patient care;
94	94	(4) prescribe a system for responding to and
95	95	investigating violent incidents or potentially violent incidents
96	96	at the facility;
97	97	(5) address physical security and safety;
98	98	(6) require the facility to solicit information from
99	99	health care providers and employees when developing and
100	100	implementing a workplace violence prevention plan;
101	101	(7) require health care providers and employees to
102	102	report incidents of workplace violence through the facility's
103	103	existing occurrence reporting systems; and
104	104	(8) require the facility to adjust patient care
105	105	assignments, to the extent practicable, to prevent a health care
106	106	provider or employee of the facility from treating or providing
107	107	services to a patient who has intentionally physically abused or
108	108	threatened the provider or employee.
109	109	(c) The written workplace violence prevention plan may
110	110	satisfy the requirements of Subsection (b) by referencing other
111	111	internal facility policies and documents.
112	112	(d) A committee at least annually shall:
113	113	(1) review and evaluate the workplace violence
114	114	prevention plan; and
115	115	(2) report the results of the evaluation to the
116	116	governing body of the facility.
117	117	(e) Each facility shall make available on request an
118	118	electronic or printed copy of the facility's workplace violence
119	119	prevention plan to each health care provider or employee of the
120	120	facility. If the committee determines the plan contains information
121	121	that would pose a security threat if made public, the committee may
122	122	redact that information before providing the plan.
123	123	Sec. 331.005. RESPONDING TO INCIDENT OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE.
124	124	(a) Following an incident of workplace violence, a facility shall
125	125	at a minimum offer immediate post-incident services, including any
126	126	necessary acute medical treatment for each health care provider or
127	127	employee of the facility who is directly involved in the incident.
128	128	(b) A facility may not discourage a health care provider or
129	129	employee from exercising the provider's or employee's right to
130	130	contact or file a report with law enforcement regarding an incident
131	131	of workplace violence.
132	132	(c) A person may not discipline, including by suspension or
133	133	termination of employment, discriminate against, or retaliate
134	134	against another person who:
135	135	(1) in good faith reports an incident of workplace
136	136	violence; or
137	137	(2) advises a health care provider or employee of the
138	138	provider's or employee's right to report an incident of workplace
139	139	violence.
140	140	Sec. 331.006. ENFORCEMENT. An appropriate licensing agency
141	141	may take disciplinary action against a person who violates this
142	142	chapter as if the person violated an applicable licensing law.
143	143	SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2024, a facility
144	144	subject to Chapter 331, Health and Safety Code, as added by this
145	145	Act, shall adopt a workplace violence prevention policy and adopt
146	146	and implement a workplace violence prevention plan in accordance
147	147	with Sections 331.003 and 331.004, Health and Safety Code, as added
148	148	by this Act.
149	149	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.