Healthcare facilities have a new law to comply with. But Nichols Brar Weitzner & Thomas is here to make it easy.
Recent data compiled by the U.S. Bureau of Labor demonstrates that healthcare and service industry workers are five times more likely to be victims of workplace violence than other workers. Although OSHA generally requires employers to protect employees from workplace hazards, it has not yet published a federal standard intended to clarify how this duty applies in the healthcare setting. In the absence of a federal standard for workplace violence prevention, Governor Abbott enacted Senate Bill (S.B.) 240. While healthcare facilities were already subject to some statutory obligations aimed at preventing workplace violence, S.B. 240 makes these protections more robust — a move that we applaud. Overall, S.B. 240 aims to prevent incidents of workplace violence, provide stronger protections for healthcare workers, and create a safe workplace environment. A more detailed explanation of S.B. 240’s features follow.
Covered Facilities
For purposes of S.B. 240, healthcare facilities subject to the statute include:
- home and community support services agencies that are licensed or licensed and certified to provide home health services and which employ at least two registered nurses;
- licensed hospitals and hospitals maintained or operated by a Texas agency that are otherwise exempted from licensing;
- licensed nursing facilities that employ at least two registered nurses;
- licensed ambulatory surgical centers;
- freestanding emergency medical care facilities; and
- licensed mental hospitals.
Covered healthcare facilities must comply with the statutory requirements by September 1, 2024. To comply, a covered healthcare facility must do four things: (1) establish a workplace violence prevention committee, (2) write and implement a workplace violence prevention policy, (3) develop a workplace violence prevention plan, and (4) create an institutional response to incidents of workplace violence. As the next section shows, this involves quite a few steps.
Key Safeguards
Workplace violence means “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 “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.” This definition serves as a reference point for the legislation’s other requirements.
A healthcare facility must create facility policies that:
- evaluate any existing workplace violence prevention plan;
- encourage providers, including nurses, to report incidents of workplace violence through existing facility mechanisms;
- include protections against any form of retaliation for providers who report incidents of workplace violence to the workplace violence committee; and
- comply with Texas Health and Human Services Commission rules relating to workplace violence.
To implement the policy (or incorporate by reference to other policies), covered facilities must also create a workplace violence prevention plan. The workplace violence prevention plan must:
- be based on the facility’s practice setting;
- require annual training and education related to workplace violence prevention to facility personnel who provide direct patient care;
- address physical safety and security;
- adopt a process for responding to and investigating violent incidents or potentially violent incidents that occur within the facility;
- adjust patient care to the extent possible to prevent providers and nurses from providing services to a patient who has been physically abuse or threatening them; and
- require the facility to solicit information from healthcare providers and employees when developing and implementing the workplace violence prevention plan.
To create the policy and prevention plan, the covered facility must also establish a facility-based workplace violence prevention committee (the “Committee”) or authorize an existing facility committee to oversee the development of the workplace violence prevention policy and plan. This Committee must include one registered nurse who provides direct patient care to patients of the facility and one physician who is licensed to practice medicine in Texas and provides direct patient care to the patients of the facility. A physician need not be a member of a home and community support service agency’s Committee if the agency lacks a licensed physician on staff. Additionally, if practicable, Committee membership must include any facility personnel who provide security services at the facility.
Administrative Consequences for Noncompliance
Noncompliance with S.B. 240 does not expose a healthcare facility to civil or criminal liability. But it can affect licensing. An appropriate licensing agency may take disciplinary action against an individual who violates any of the law’s requirements if that individual has violated an applicable licensing law.
In addition to keeping abreast of any future developments, Nichols Brar Weitzner & Thomas can help your facility achieve compliance with S.B. 240’s requirements. We have created a Workplace Violence Prevention Toolkit that includes customizable templates for a workplace violence prevention policy and plan that can be tailored to your facility’s specific practice setting. The toolkit also includes supplemental materials intended to buttress your facility’s compliance efforts: 1) an employee survey; 2) a compliance checklist; 3) a workplace violence incident intake form; and 4) a workplace violence committee charter. Please contact us with any questions regarding your facility’s compliance with S.B. 240.
