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EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 1775
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR GREGORY (21).
7489S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 565.056, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof seven new sections relating to
workplace violence prevention in health care settings, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 565.056, RSMo, is repealed and seven 1
new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 2
191.1903, 191.1906, 191.1909, 191.1912, 191.1915, 197.708, and 3
565.056, to read as follows:4
191.1903. As used in sections 191.1903 to 191.1915, 1
the following terms mean: 2
(1) "Committee", the workplace violence prevention 3
committee or other committee responsible for developing a 4
facility's workplace violence prevention plan under section 5
191.1906; 6
(2) "Facility", any hospital, as defined in section 7
197.020; 8
(3) "Health care professional", a physician or other 9
health care practitioner licensed, accredited, or certified 10
by this state to perform specified health services 11
consistent with state law, including an emergency medical 12
responder as defined in section 190.100. 13
191.1906. 1. Each facility shall establish a 1
workplace violence prevention committee or authorize an 2
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existing facility committee to develop the workplace 3
violence prevention plan required under section 191.1909. 4
2. The committee shall include at least: 5
(1) One registered nurse who provides direct care to 6
patients of the facility; 7
(2) One physician licensed to practice medicine in 8
this state who provides direct care to patients of the 9
facility; and 10
(3) One facility employee who provides security 11
services for the facility, if any and if practicable. 12
3. A health care system that owns or operates more 13
than one facility may establish a single committee for all 14
of the system's facilities if: 15
(1) The committee develops a violence prevention plan 16
for implementation at each facility in the system; and 17
(2) Data related to violence prevention remains 18
distinctly identifiable for each facility in the system. 19
191.1909. 1. A facility shall adopt and enforce a 1
written workplace violence prevention plan in accordance 2
with this section to protect health care professionals and 3
employees from violent behavior and threats of violent 4
behavior occurring at the facility. The facility shall 5
provide significant consideration to the violence prevention 6
plan recommended by the facility's committee under section 7
191.1906 and shall evaluate any existing facility violence 8
prevention plan. 9
2. A facility's workplace violence prevention plan 10
shall: 11
(1) Be based on the practice setting; 12
(2) Encourage health care professionals and employees 13
of the facility to provide confidential information on 14
workplace violence to the committee; 15
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(3) Include a process to protect from retaliation 16
facility health care professionals and employees who provide 17
information to the committee; 18
(4) Adopt a definition of workplace violence that 19
includes: 20
(a) An act or threat of physical force against a 21
health care professional or employee that results in, or is 22
likely to result in, physical injury or psychological 23
trauma; and 24
(b) An incident involving the use of a firearm or 25
other dangerous weapon, regardless of whether a health care 26
professional or employee is injured by the weapon; 27
(5) Require the facility to offer at least annually 28
workplace violence prevention training or education that may 29
be included in required training or education provided to 30
the facility's health care professionals and employees who 31
provide direct patient care; 32
(6) Prescribe a system for responding to and 33
investigating violent incidents or potentially violent 34
incidents at the facility; 35
(7) Address physical safety and security; 36
(8) Require the facility to solicit information from 37
health care professionals and employees when developing and 38
implementing a workplace violence prevention plan; 39
(9) Allow health care professionals and employees to 40
report incidents of workplace violence through the 41
facility's existing occurrence reporting systems; and 42
(10) Require the facility to adjust patient care 43
assignments, to the extent practicable, to prevent a health 44
care professional or employee of the facility from treating 45
or providing services to a patient who has intentionally 46
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physically abused or threatened the health care professional 47
or employee. 48
3. The written workplace violence prevention plan may 49
satisfy the requirements of subsection 2 of this section by 50
referencing other internal facility policies and documents. 51
4. At least annually, a committee shall review and 52
evaluate the workplace violence prevention plan and report 53
the results of the evaluation to the governing body of the 54
facility. 55
5. Each facility shall make available on request an 56
electronic or printed copy of the facility's workplace 57
violence prevention plan to each health care professional or 58
employee of the facility. If the facility or the committee 59
determines the plan contains information that would pose a 60
security threat if made public, the facility may redact that 61
information before providing the plan. 62
191.1912. 1. Following an incident of workplace 1
violence, a facility shall, at a minimum, offer immediate 2
postincident services, including any necessary acute medical 3
treatment for each health care professional or employee of 4
the facility who is directly involved in the incident. 5
2. No facility shall discourage a health care 6
professional or employee from exercising the health care 7
professional's or employee's right to contact or file a 8
report with law enforcement regarding an incident of 9
workplace violence. 10
3. No person shall discipline, including by suspension 11
or termination of employment, discriminate against, or 12
retaliate against another person who: 13
(1) In good faith reports an incident of workplace 14
violence; or 15
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(2) Advises a health care professional or employee of 16
the health care professional's or employee's right to report 17
an incident of workplace violence. 18
191.1915. 1. An agency with jurisdiction over the 1
license of a facility or health care professional may take 2
disciplinary action against any person who violates the 3
provisions of sections 191.1903 to 191.1915 as if the person 4
violated an applicable licensing law. 5
2. A facility or health care professional 6
participating in good faith in complying with the provisions 7
of sections 191.1903 to 191.1915 and a workplace violence 8
prevention plan adopted under section 191.1909 shall be 9
immune from any liability, civil or criminal, that may 10
otherwise be incurred or imposed. 11
197.708. Each hospital shall display in a prominent 1
place within the waiting rooms of the emergency department 2
and the labor and delivery department a printed sign with 3
the following text in all capital letters: "WARNING: 4
ASSAULTING A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL WHO IS ENGAGED IN THE 5
PERFORMANCE OF HIS OR HER OFFICIAL DUTIES, INCLUDING 6
STRIKING A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL WITH ANY BODILY FLUID, 7
IS A SERIOUS CRIME AND WILL BE PROSECUTED TO THE FULLEST 8
EXTENT OF THE LAW.". 9
565.056. 1. A person commits the offense of assault 1
in the fourth degree if: 2
(1) The person attempts to cause or recklessly causes 3
physical injury, physical pain, or illness to another person; 4
(2) With criminal negligence the person causes 5
physical injury to another person by means of a firearm; 6
(3) The person purposely places another person in 7
apprehension of immediate physical injury; 8
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(4) The person recklessly engages in conduct which 9
creates a substantial risk of death or serious physical 10
injury to another person; 11
(5) The person knowingly causes or attempts to cause 12
physical contact with a person with a disability, which a 13
reasonable person, who does not have a disability, would 14
consider offensive or provocative; [or] 15
(6) The person knowingly causes physical contact with 16
another person knowing the other person will regard the 17
contact as offensive or provocative; or 18
(7) The person knowingly causes physical pain to a 19
special victim as that term is defined in section 565.002. 20
2. Except as provided in subsection 3 of this section, 21
assault in the fourth degree is a class A misdemeanor. 22
3. Violation of the provisions of subdivision (3) or 23
(6) of subsection 1 of this section is a class C misdemeanor 24
unless the victim is a special victim, as the term "special 25
victim" is defined under section 565.002, in which case a 26
violation of such provisions is a class A misdemeanor. 27
Violation of the provisions of subdivision (7) of subsection 28
1 of this section is a class A misdemeanor unless the person 29
has previously been found guilty or pled guilty to an 30
assault offense as defined under section 565.079 or an 31
assault in violation of a county or municipal ordinance, in 32
which case the offense is a class E felony. A person who 33
has previously been found guilty or pled guilty to an 34
assault offense on two or more occasions and who violates 35
the provisions of subdivision (7) of subsection 1 of this 36
section shall be guilty of a class D felony. 37
4. A person found guilty of a violation of subdivision 38
(7) of subsection 1 of this section shall not be sentenced 39
to a fine and shall not be eligible for probation or parole 40
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until the person has served a minimum of six months of 41
incarceration for a first offense or one year of 42
incarceration for a second or subsequent offense. 43
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