Vermont H 259: An act relating to the beverage container redemption system

Bill Text

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No. 9. An act relating to preventing workplace violence in hospitals.
(H.259)
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:
Sec. 1. 18 V.S.A. § 1911b is added to read:
§ 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

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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 prioritize 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;

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(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

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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