The Vermont Statutes Online

Title 18 : Health

Chapter 043 : Licensing of Hospitals

• § 1911b. Workplace violence prevention planning

  (a)(1) A hospital licensed pursuant to this chapter shall establish and implement a security plan for preventing workplace violence and managing aggressive behaviors. Each hospital shall establish a team for the purpose of providing advice during the development of the hospital’s security plan. The hospital shall select individuals from the following groups to serve on its security plan development team:

  (A) health care employees providing direct patient care at the hospital;

  (B) representatives from the designated agency serving the region where the hospital is located; and

  (C) representatives of relevant law enforcement agencies.

  (2) The security plan shall be based on the results of a security risk assessment that addresses all high-risk areas of the hospital, including the emergency department, and all patient care areas. The security risk assessment shall be conducted in consultation with the medical and nursing directors of each department and those hospital employees supervising other high-risk areas of the hospital. The security risk assessment shall consider overall patient volume, crime rates in the community, and the availability of law enforcement to respond to violent incidents at the hospital.

  (3) The security plan shall include an option for health care employees who provide direct patient care to request an identification badge containing only their first name or their first name and last initial.

  (4)(A) The security plan shall require at least one hospital employee trained in de-escalation strategies to be present at all times in the hospital’s emergency department and all other patient care areas.

  (B) The security plan shall require that a hospital employee trained in trauma-informed care and victim support serve as a liaison to law enforcement, support victims through the legal process, and ensure that the response to incidents of violence at the hospital prioritizes the safety and retention of hospital employees providing health care services to the extent permitted under State and federal law.

  (5) The security plan shall establish training requirements for appropriate hospital employees on the following:

  (A) the culture of safety as determined by the hospital;

  (B) response to the presence or use of weapons;

  (C) defensive tactics;

  (D) de-escalation techniques;

  (E) appropriate physical restraint and seclusion techniques;

  (F) crisis intervention;

  (G) trauma-informed care and strategies;

  (H) clinician well-being practices;

  (I) presence and intervention of law enforcement; and

  (J) safely addressing situations involving patients, family members, or other individuals who pose a risk of self-harm or harm to others.

  (6) The security plan shall include guidelines indicating when a law enforcement officer should remain with a patient who has demonstrated violence or harm to others. The guidelines shall be developed jointly by a health care provider representative and law enforcement.

  (7)(A) A hospital shall review and evaluate the security plan developed pursuant to this subsection annually in conjunction with the data collected pursuant to subdivision (b)(3) of this section. If necessary, the hospital shall revise the security plan.

  (B) The security plan and any annual revisions to the security plan shall be distributed annually to all hospital employees, volunteers, the hospital’s board of directors, relevant law enforcement agencies, and any other partners identified by the security plan development team.

  (b)(1) A hospital licensed pursuant to this chapter shall establish and utilize a workplace violence incident reporting system to document, track, analyze, and evaluate incidents of workplace violence at the hospital. Data collection through the reporting system and resulting analysis shall be used to improve workplace safety and to manage aggressive behaviors, including improvements achieved through continuing education in targeted areas such as de-escalation training, risk identification, and prevention planning.

  (2) All hospital employees shall be notified about the existence of the reporting system and shall receive training on how to report incidents of workplace violence to the hospital, hospital security, law enforcement, or any other entity the hospital deems appropriate.

  (3) A hospital shall use its reporting system to track the following:

  (A) the number of reported incidents; and

  (B) the number of incidents reported to law enforcement.

  (c) A hospital shall adopt a policy prohibiting discrimination or retaliation for:

  (1) reporting an incidence of workplace violence;

  (2) seeking assistance or intervention from the hospital, hospital security, law enforcement, or any other appropriate entity; or

  (3) participating or refusing to participate in an investigation of workplace violence.

  (d)(1) A hospital shall post a notice in a conspicuous location, either electronically or in print, indicating that hospital employees do not tolerate an unsafe work environment where any type of threatening or aggressive behavior is present. The notice shall remind hospital patrons of the serious legal consequences of assaulting a hospital employee.

  (2) As used in this subsection, “conspicuous” could include the hospital’s website, waiting room areas, or any other areas of the hospital that the hospital deems appropriate.

  (e) The Agency of Human Services shall collaborate with hospitals to identify incentives, funding sources, and other means to support the development and operation of workplace violence prevention programs at hospitals.

  (f) Nothing in this section shall require a hospital to make capital investments to implement its security plan. (Added 2025, No. 9, § 1, eff. July 1, 2025.)