Bill Text: TX HB326 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relating to workplace violence prevention in certain health care facilities.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-04-19 - Received from the House [HB326 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB326-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relating to workplace violence prevention in certain health care facilities.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-04-19 - Received from the House [HB326 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HB326-Introduced.html
87R1048 KKR-F | ||
By: Howard | H.B. No. 326 |
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relating to workplace violence prevention in certain health care | ||
facilities. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is amended by | ||
adding Subtitle H to read as follows: | ||
SUBTITLE H. EMPLOYEES OF HEALTH CARE FACILITIES | ||
CHAPTER 331. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION | ||
Sec. 331.0001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
(1) "Commission" means the Health and Human Services | ||
Commission. | ||
(2) "Committee" means the workplace violence | ||
prevention committee or other committee responsible for developing | ||
and implementing a facility's workplace violence prevention plan | ||
under Section 331.0002. | ||
(3) "Facility" means: | ||
(A) a home and community support services agency | ||
licensed or licensed and certified under Chapter 142 to provide | ||
home health services as defined by Section 142.001, and that | ||
employs at least two registered nurses; | ||
(B) a health care provider that: | ||
(i) is certified by the commission to | ||
provide services through the home and community-based services | ||
(HCS) or Texas home living (TxHmL) waiver program; and | ||
(ii) employs at least two registered | ||
nurses; | ||
(C) a hospital licensed under Chapter 241 and a | ||
hospital maintained or operated by an agency of this state that is | ||
exempt from licensing under that chapter; | ||
(D) a nursing facility licensed under Chapter 242 | ||
that employs at least two registered nurses; | ||
(E) an ambulatory surgical center licensed under | ||
Chapter 243; | ||
(F) a freestanding emergency medical care | ||
facility as defined by Section 254.001; and | ||
(G) a mental hospital licensed under Chapter 577. | ||
Sec. 331.0002. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION COMMITTEE. | ||
(a) Each facility shall establish a workplace violence prevention | ||
committee or authorize an existing facility committee to develop | ||
and implement the workplace violence prevention plan required under | ||
Section 331.0004. | ||
(b) A committee must include at least: | ||
(1) one registered nurse who provides direct care to | ||
patients of the facility; and | ||
(2) one employee of the facility who provides security | ||
services for the facility if the facility employs security | ||
personnel and if practicable. | ||
(c) A health care system that owns or operates more than one | ||
facility may establish a single committee for all of the system's | ||
facilities if: | ||
(1) the committee develops a violence prevention plan | ||
for implementation at each facility in the system; and | ||
(2) data related to violence prevention remains | ||
distinctly identifiable for each facility in the system. | ||
Sec. 331.0003. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION POLICY. (a) | ||
A facility shall adopt, implement, and enforce a written workplace | ||
violence prevention policy in accordance with this section to | ||
protect health care providers and employees from violent behavior | ||
and threats of violent behavior occurring at the facility. | ||
(b) The workplace violence prevention policy must: | ||
(1) require the facility to: | ||
(A) provide significant consideration of the | ||
violence prevention plan recommended by the facility's committee; | ||
and | ||
(B) evaluate any existing facility violence | ||
prevention plan; | ||
(2) encourage health care providers and employees of | ||
the facility to provide confidential information on workplace | ||
violence to the committee; | ||
(3) include a process to protect from retaliation | ||
facility health care providers or employees who provide information | ||
to the committee; and | ||
(4) comply with commission rules relating to workplace | ||
violence. | ||
Sec. 331.0004. WORKPLACE VIOLENCE PREVENTION PLAN. (a) | ||
The committee of a facility or health care system, as applicable, | ||
shall adopt, implement, and enforce a written workplace violence | ||
prevention plan in accordance with this section to protect health | ||
care providers and employees from violent behavior and threats of | ||
violent behavior occurring at the facility or each facility of the | ||
health care system. | ||
(b) A facility's workplace violence prevention plan must: | ||
(1) be based on the practice setting; | ||
(2) adopt a definition of "workplace violence" that | ||
includes: | ||
(A) an act or threat of physical force against a | ||
health care provider or employee that results in, or is likely to | ||
result in, physical injury or psychological trauma; and | ||
(B) an incident involving the use of a firearm or | ||
other dangerous weapon, regardless of whether a health care | ||
provider or employee is injured by the weapon; | ||
(3) require the facility to provide at least annually | ||
workplace violence prevention training or education that may be | ||
included in other required training or education provided to the | ||
facility's health care providers and employees, including | ||
temporary employees, who provide direct patient care; | ||
(4) prescribe a system for responding to and | ||
investigating violent incidents or potentially violent incidents | ||
at the facility; | ||
(5) address physical security and safety; | ||
(6) require the facility to solicit information from | ||
health care providers and employees when developing and | ||
implementing a workplace violence prevention plan; | ||
(7) require health care providers and employees to | ||
report incidents of workplace violence through the facility's | ||
existing occurrence reporting systems; and | ||
(8) require the facility to adjust patient care | ||
assignments, to the extent practicable, to prevent a health care | ||
provider or employee of the facility from treating or providing | ||
services to a patient who has intentionally physically abused or | ||
threatened the provider or employee. | ||
(c) The written workplace violence prevention plan may | ||
satisfy the requirements of Subsection (b) by referencing other | ||
internal facility policies and documents. | ||
(d) A committee at least annually shall: | ||
(1) review and evaluate the workplace violence | ||
prevention plan; and | ||
(2) report the results of the evaluation to the | ||
governing body of the facility or health care system as applicable. | ||
(e) Each facility shall make available on request an | ||
electronic or printed copy of the facility's workplace violence | ||
prevention plan to each health care provider or employee of the | ||
facility. If the committee determines the plan contains information | ||
that would pose a security threat if made public, the committee may | ||
redact that information before providing the plan. | ||
Sec. 331.0005. RESPONDING TO INCIDENT OF WORKPLACE | ||
VIOLENCE. (a) Following an incident of workplace violence, a | ||
facility shall at a minimum offer immediate post-incident services, | ||
including any necessary acute medical treatment for each health | ||
care provider or employee of the facility who is directly involved | ||
in the incident. | ||
(b) A facility may not discourage a health care provider or | ||
employee from exercising the provider's or employee's right to | ||
contact or file a report with law enforcement regarding an incident | ||
of workplace violence. | ||
(c) A person may not discipline, including by suspension or | ||
termination of employment, discriminate against, or retaliate | ||
against another person who: | ||
(1) in good faith reports an incident of workplace | ||
violence; or | ||
(2) advises a health care provider or employee of the | ||
provider's or employee's right to report an incident of workplace | ||
violence. | ||
Sec. 331.0006. ENFORCEMENT. An appropriate licensing | ||
agency may take disciplinary action against a person who violates | ||
this chapter. | ||
SECTION 2. Not later than September 1, 2022, a facility | ||
subject to Chapter 331, Health and Safety Code, as added by this | ||
Act, shall adopt a workplace violence prevention policy and adopt | ||
and implement a workplace violence prevention plan in accordance | ||
with Sections 331.0003 and 331.0004, Health and Safety Code, as | ||
added by this Act. | ||
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |