Creates provisions relating to workplace violence prevention in health care settings

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
HOUSE BILL NO. 3401
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBL Y
7076H.03C JOSEPH ENGLER, Chief Clerk
AN ACT
T o amend chapters 191 and 197, RSMo, by adding thereto six new sections relating to
workplace violence prevention in health care settings.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Chapters 191 and 197, RSMo, are amended by adding thereto six new
2 sections, to be known as sections 191.1903, 191.1906, 191.1909, 191.1912, 191.1915, and
3 197.708, to read as follows:
191.1903. As used in sections 191.1903 to 191.1915, the following terms mean:
2 (1) "Committee", the workplace violence pr evention committee or other
3 committee res ponsible for developing a facility's workplace violence preven tion plan
4 under section 191.1906;
5 (2) "Facility", any hospital, as defined in section 197.020;
6 (3) "Health care pr ofessional", a physician or other health car e practitioner
7 licensed, accr edited, or certified by this state to perform specified health services
8 consistent with state law , including an emergency medical r esponder as defined in
9 section 190.100.
191.1906. 1. Each facility shall establish a workplace violence prev ention
2 committee or authorize an existing facility committee to develop the workplace violence
3 pr evention plan requi red under section 191.1909.
4 2. The committee shall include at least:
5 (1) One regist ered nurse who pr ovides dir ect care to patients of the facility;
6 (2) One physician licensed to practice medicine in this state who prov ides direct
7 car e to patients of the facility; and
EXPLANA TION — Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in the above bill is not enacted and is
intended to be omitted from the law . Matter in bold-face type in the above bill is proposed language.
8 (3) One facility employee who pro vides security services for the facility , if any
9 and if practicable.
10 3. A health care system that owns or operates mor e than one facility may
11 establish a single committee for all of the system's facilities if:
12 (1) The committee develops a violence preven tion plan for implementation at
13 each facility in the system; and
14 (2) Data re lated to violence pr evention rem ains distinctly identifiable for each
15 facility in the system.
191.1909. 1. A facility shall adopt and enforc e a written workplace violence
2 pr evention plan in accordance with this section to pr otect health care profes sionals and
3 employees fr om violent behavior and thr eats of violent behavior occurring at the
4 facility . The facility shall prov ide significant consideration to the violence prev ention
5 plan r ecommended by the facility's committee under section 191.1906 and shall evaluate
6 any existing facility violence pr evention plan.
7 2. A facility's workplace violence pr evention plan shall:
8 (1) Be based on the practice setting;
9 (2) Encourage health care pro fessionals and employees of the facility to provi de
10 confidential information on workplace violence to the committee;
11 (3) Include a pr ocess to pr otect fr om reta liation facility health car e profes sionals
12 and employees who pr ovide information to the committee;
13 (4) Adopt a definition of workplace violence that includes:
14 (a) An act or thr eat of physical for ce against a health car e pr ofessional or
15 employee that res ults in, or is likely to res ult in, physical injury or psychological
16 trauma; and
17 (b) An incident involving the use of a fir earm or other dangerou s weapon,
18 r egardless of whether a health care pr ofessional or employee is injur ed by the weapon;
19 (5) Requir e the facility to offer at least annually workplace violence preve ntion
20 training or education that may be included in r equir ed training or education pr ovided
21 to the facility's health care pr ofessionals and employees who pr ovide dir ect patient care;
22 (6) Pr escribe a system for r esponding to and investigating violent incidents or
23 potentially violent incidents at the facility;
24 (7) Addr ess physical safety and security;
25 (8) Requir e the facility to solicit information fr om health care profes sionals and
26 employees when developing and implementing a workplace violence pr evention plan;
27 (9) Allow health care profession als and employees to rep ort incidents of
28 workplace violence thr ough the facility's existing occurre nce r eporting systems; and
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29 (10) Require the facility to adjust patient car e assignments, to the extent
30 practicable, to pr event a health care profes sional or employee of the facility fr om
31 tr eating or pr oviding services to a patient who has intentionally physically abused or
32 thr eatened the health care profes sional or employee.
33 3. The written workplace violence pr evention plan may satisfy the r equir ements
34 of subsection 2 of this section by ref erenci ng other internal facility policies and
35 documents.
36 4. At least annually , a committee shall review and evaluate the workplace
37 violence prev ention plan and rep ort the res ults of the evaluation to the governing body
38 of the facility .
39 5. Each facility shall make available on req uest an electr onic or printed copy of
40 the facility's workplace violence pr evention plan to each health care pro fessional or
41 employee of the facility . If the facility or the committee determines the plan contains
42 information that would pose a security thr eat if made public, the facility may redac t that
43 information before pro viding the plan.
191.1912. 1. Following an incident of workplace violence, a facility shall, at a
2 minimum, offer immediate post-incident services, including any necessary acute medical
3 tr eatment for each health care profes sional or employee of the facility who is dir ectly
4 involved in the incident.
5 2. No facility shall discourage a health car e profession al or employee fr om
6 exer cising the health care profession al's or employee's right to contact or file a repor t
7 with law enforcem ent r egarding an incident of workplace violence.
8 3. No person shall discipline, including by suspension or termination of
9 employment, discriminate against, or re taliate against another person who:
10 (1) In good faith r eports an incident of workplace violence; or
11 (2) Advises a health care pr ofessional or employee of the health care
12 pr ofessional's or employee's right to rep ort an incident of workplace violence.
191.1915. 1. An agency with jurisdiction over the license of a facility or health
2 car e pr ofessional may take disciplinary action against any person who violates the
3 pr ovisions of sections 191.1903 to 191.1915 as if the person violated an applicable
4 licensing law .
5 2. A facility or health car e pr ofessional participating in good faith in complying
6 with the pr ovisions of sections 191.1903 to 191.1915 and a workplace violence
7 pr evention plan adopted under section 191.1909 shall be immune fr om any liability ,
8 civil or criminal, that may otherwise be incurr ed or imposed.
197.708. Each hospital shall display in a pr ominent place within the waiting
2 r ooms of the emergency department and the labor and delivery department a printed
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3 sign with the following text in all capital letters: "W ARNING: ASSAUL TING A
4 HEAL TH CARE PROFESSIONAL WHO IS ENGAGED IN THE PERFORMANCE
5 OF HIS OR HER OFFICIAL DUTIES, INCLUDING STRIKING A HEAL TH CARE
6 PROFESSIONAL, IS A SERIOUS CRIME AND WILL BE PROSECUTED T O THE
7 FULLEST EXTENT OF THE LA W .".
✔
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