Bill Text: TX HB2695 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the reporting of physical assaults against certain direct care personnel.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-16 - Referred to Public Health [HB2695 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HB2695-Introduced.html
| 84R9297 JSC-F | ||
| By: Howard | H.B. No. 2695 | |
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| relating to the reporting of physical assaults against certain | ||
| direct care personnel. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 4, Health and Safety Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Chapter 258A to read as follows: | ||
| CHAPTER 258A. REPORTING ASSAULTS AGAINST DIRECT CARE PERSONNEL | ||
| Sec. 258A.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: | ||
| (1) "Department" means the Department of State Health | ||
| Services. | ||
| (2) "Direct care personnel" means individuals who: | ||
| (A) provide health care services to patients in a | ||
| health care facility; or | ||
| (B) provide home health, hospice, or personal | ||
| assistance as an employee of or under contract with a home and | ||
| community support agency. | ||
| (3) "Health care facility" means a facility that | ||
| provides health care services to patients and includes: | ||
| (A) a facility licensed under this subtitle, | ||
| including a hospital or nursing home; | ||
| (B) a private mental hospital licensed under | ||
| Chapter 577; or | ||
| (C) a hospital that is maintained or operated by | ||
| the state. | ||
| (4) "Home and community support agency" means an | ||
| agency licensed under Chapter 142. | ||
| (5) "Physical assault" means conduct constituting an | ||
| offense under Section 22.01, Penal Code. | ||
| Sec. 258A.002. POLICY. (a) Each health care facility or | ||
| home and community support agency shall adopt and implement a | ||
| policy under which direct care personnel report to the facility or | ||
| agency any incidents of physical assault. | ||
| (b) A policy adopted under this section must require the | ||
| reporting of: | ||
| (1) the job title of the direct care personnel | ||
| assaulted; | ||
| (2) the type of assault; | ||
| (3) the extent of the injury to the direct care | ||
| personnel; | ||
| (4) the location where the assault occurred, including | ||
| any specific department or area of a health care facility; and | ||
| (5) whether the person who engaged in the physical | ||
| assault was a patient, client, or resident, a family member, or | ||
| another staff member. | ||
| Sec. 258A.003. REPORTING. (a) Each health care facility or | ||
| home and community support agency shall annually report | ||
| de-identified aggregate data to the department on the incidents of | ||
| physical assault against direct care personnel that were reported | ||
| to the facility or agency by direct care personnel. | ||
| (b) The report to the department may not contain any | ||
| information that could personally identify the person who engaged | ||
| in the physical assault, a victim of the assault, or a facility at | ||
| which an assault occurred. | ||
| (c) The department may coordinate the reporting under this | ||
| section with other required reports made to the department under | ||
| other law. | ||
| (d) De-identified aggregate data reported under this | ||
| section is public information subject to Chapter 552, Government | ||
| Code. | ||
| Sec. 258A.004. HEALTH PROFESSIONS RESOURCE CENTER. (a) The | ||
| department, after reviewing the data reported to the department | ||
| under this chapter to ensure that personal identifying information | ||
| is not included, shall make the data available to the health | ||
| professions resource center established under Chapter 105. | ||
| (b) The health professions resource center shall prepare an | ||
| annual report based on the data supplied by the department under | ||
| this section. | ||
| SECTION 2. (a) A facility or agency subject to Section | ||
| 258A.002, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, shall adopt | ||
| the policy required by that section not later than January 1, 2016. | ||
| (b) A facility or agency required to make a report under | ||
| Section 258A.003, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, is | ||
| not required to make an annual report to the Department of State | ||
| Health Services before March 1, 2017. The Department of State | ||
| Health Services shall set the date of the initial report for not | ||
| later than March 1, 2018, and may set the date of the initial report | ||
| to coordinate with other reports as provided by Section | ||
| 258A.003(c), Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act. | ||
| (c) The health professions resource center is not required | ||
| to prepare the initial annual report under Section 258A.004(b), | ||
| Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, before the 120th day | ||
| after the date the center receives access to the relevant data. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
| a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
| provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
| Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
| Act takes effect September 1, 2015. | ||
