§ 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.)