| (a) In accordance with Texas Health and Safety Code
(HSC) §331.002, a hospital shall establish a workplace violence
prevention committee or authorize an existing hospital committee to
develop a workplace violence prevention plan.
(b) A hospital shall ensure the committee includes
at least:
(1) one registered nurse who provides direct care to
the hospital's patients;
(2) one physician licensed to practice medicine in
this state who provides direct care to the hospital's patients; and
(3) one hospital employee who provides security services
for the hospital if any and if practicable.
(c) A health care system that owns or operates more
than one facility, as that term is defined by HSC §331.001, which
includes a hospital, may establish a single workplace violence prevention
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.
(d) A hospital shall adopt, implement, and enforce
a written workplace violence prevention policy to protect health care
providers and employees from violent behavior and threats of violent
behavior occurring at the hospital. In accordance with HSC §331.003,
the policy shall:
(1) require the hospital to:
(A) provide significant consideration of the violence
prevention plan recommended by the hospital's committee; and
(B) evaluate any existing hospital violence prevention
plan;
(2) encourage health care providers and employees to
provide confidential information on workplace violence to the committee;
(3) include a process to protect from retaliation health
care providers or employees who provide information to the committee;
and
(4) comply with HHSC rules relating to workplace violence.
(e) A hospital shall adopt, implement, and enforce
a written workplace violence prevention plan developed by the committee.
In accordance with HSC §331.004, the plan shall:
(1) be based on a hospital 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 hospital to at least annually provide
workplace violence prevention training or education that may be included
in other required training or education provided to the health care
providers and employees who provide direct patient care;
(4) prescribe a system for responding to and investigating
violent incidents or potentially violent incidents at the hospital;
(5) address physical security and safety;
(6) require the hospital to solicit information from
the health care providers and employees when developing and implementing
a workplace violence prevention plan;
(7) allow health care providers and employees to report
workplace violence incidents through the hospital's existing occurrence
reporting systems; and
(8) require the hospital to adjust patient care assignments,
to the extent practicable, to prevent a health care provider or employee
from treating or providing services to a patient who has intentionally
physically abused or threatened the provider or employee.
(f) The written workplace violence prevention plan
may satisfy the requirements of subsection (e) of this section by
referencing other internal hospital policies and documents.
(g) At least annually after the date a hospital adopts
a written workplace violence prevention plan required by subsection
(e) of this section, the committee shall:
(1) review and evaluate the workplace violence prevention
plan; and
(2) report the results of the evaluation to the hospital's
governing body.
(h) Each hospital shall make available on request an
electronic or printed copy of the hospital's workplace violence prevention
plan to each health care provider or hospital employee. 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.
(i) In accordance with HSC §331.005, after an
incident of workplace violence occurs, a hospital shall offer immediate
post-incident services, including any necessary acute medical treatment
for each hospital health care provider or employee who is directly
involved in the incident.
(j) In accordance with HSC §331.005, a hospital
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 a workplace violence incident.
(k) In accordance with HSC §331.005, a hospital
shall prohibit hospital personnel from disciplining, including by
suspension or termination of employment, discriminating against, or
retaliating against another person who:
(1) in good faith reports a workplace violence incident;
or
(2) advises a health care provider or employee of the
provider's or employee's right to report a workplace violence incident.
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