Amends new GS 131E-88 to now require that hospitals with emergency departments (ED’s) conduct a security risk assessment and then develop the required protocols to ensure that at least one law enforcement officer is present at all times in the ED or the same campus as the ED (previously, no security risk assessment required), unless excluded by a determination of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) under new subsection GS 131E-88(c). Adds subsection (c), which specifies that a hospital is not required to have at least one law enforcement officer present in the emergency department or on the hospital campus at all times if the hospital in good faith determines that a different level of security is necessary and appropriate for any of its ED’s based upon findings in the security risk assessment required under GS 131E-88. Requires that a hospital that determines that a different level of security is necessary and appropriate must include the basis for that determination in its security risk assessment and request an exemption for this requirement from DHHS. The hospital must also provide appropriate hospital workplace violence prevention program training, education, and resources to staff, practitioners, and non-law enforcement officer security personnel. Makes conforming changes.
Amends new GS 131E-88.2(a) (annual AOC report requirement on certain crimes) to change the due date to September 1 (was December 15) and to specify that the entities receiving the report is DHHS, Division of Health Services Regulation (Division) and to remove the specified NCGA committee from those entities. Requires the Division to collect the following data from hospitals for the preceding calendar year: (1) the number of assaults occurring in the hospital or on hospital grounds that required the involvement of law enforcement, whether the assaults involved hospital personnel, and how those assaults were pursued by the hospital and processed by the judicial system, (2) the number and impact of incidences where patient behavioral health and substance use issues resulted in violence in the hospital and the number that occurred specifically in the emergency department, and (3) the number of workplace violence incidences occurring at the hospital that were reported as required by accrediting agencies, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and other entities, by September 1 of each year. Requires DHHS to compile the report information required by GS 131E-88.2, including any recommendations to decrease the incidents of violence in hospitals and to decrease assaults on hospital personal, and to report this information to the specified NCGA committee by December 1 of each year. Specifies that these annual reporting requirements begin on the specified due dates in 2025.
Changes the act’s general effective date to October 1, 2024 (was, October 1, 2023).
Makes conforming and organizational changes.
HOSPITAL VIOLENCE PROTECTION ACT.
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View NCGA Bill Details | 2023-2024 Session |
AN ACT ENACTING THE HOSPITAL VIOLENCE PROTECTION ACT.Intro. by Reeder, Miller, Pyrtle.
Bill History:
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Tue, 18 Apr 2023 House: Filed
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Wed, 19 Apr 2023 House: Passed 1st Reading
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Tue, 2 May 2023 House: Reptd Fav Com Substitute
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Wed, 3 May 2023 House: Reptd Fav
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Wed, 3 May 2023 House: Cal Pursuant Rule 36(b)
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Wed, 3 May 2023 House: Added to Calendar
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Wed, 3 May 2023 House: Passed 2nd Reading
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Wed, 3 May 2023 House: Passed 3rd Reading
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Wed, 3 May 2023 House: Special Message Sent To Senate
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Thu, 4 May 2023 Senate: Special Message Received From House
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Thu, 4 May 2023 Senate: Special Message Received From House
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Thu, 4 May 2023 Senate: Passed 1st Reading
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Thu, 4 May 2023 Senate: Passed 1st Reading
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Thu, 4 May 2023 Senate: Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
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Thu, 4 May 2023 Senate: Ref To Com On Rules and Operations of the Senate
Bill Summaries:
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Bill H 809 (2023-2024)Summary date: May 2 2023 - View Summary
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Bill H 809 (2023-2024)Summary date: Apr 20 2023 - View Summary
Refers to the act as "The Hospital Violence Protection Act of 2023."
Adds new Part 3A, Hospital Violence Prevention Act, in Article 5 of GS Chapter 131E, providing as follows. Requires licensed hospitals that have an emergency department to implement a security plan with protocols to ensure at least one law enforcement officer (a sworn law enforcement officer or a special police officer duly authorized to carry a concealed weapon) is present at all times in the emergency department or on the same campus as the emergency department. Sets out the following components that must be included in the security plan: (1) training for law enforcement officers employed by the hospital that is appropriate for the populations served by the emergency department; (2) training for law enforcement officers employed by the hospital that is based on a trauma-informed approach to identifying and safely addressing situations involving patients, family members, or other persons who pose a risk of harm to themselves or others due to mental illness or substance use disorder or who are experiencing a mental health crisis; (3) safety protocols based on the listed standards and risks; (4) safety protocols that include the presence of at least one law enforcement officer in the emergency department or on the same campus as the emergency department at all times; and (5) training requirements for law enforcement officers employed by the hospital in the potential use of and response to weapons, defensive tactics, de-escalation techniques, appropriate physical restraint and seclusion techniques, crisis intervention, and trauma-informed approaches.
Requires the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to report annually to the Division of Health Services Regulation and the specified NCGA committee on the number of persons charged or convicted in the previous year under GS 14-34.6 (assault or affray on a firefighter, emergency medical technician, medical responder, and hospital personnel).
Effective October 1, 2023.
Requires the Department of Health and Human Services, by October 1, 2023, to notify all licensed hospitals of these requirements and provide information on how to report hospital injuries resulting from acts of violence to appropriate law enforcement.
Makes the AOC's first report due by December 15, 2023.