1257.7.
(a) All hospitals licensed pursuant to subdivisions (a), (b), and (f) of Section 1250 shall conduct, not less than annually, a security and safety assessment and, using the assessment, develop, and annually update based on the assessment, a security plan with measures to protect personnel, patients, and visitors from aggressive or violent behavior. The security and safety assessment shall examine trends of aggressive or violent behavior at the facility. These hospitals shall track incidents of aggressive or violent behavior, as well as the hospital’s response to those incidents, as part of the quality assessment and improvement program and for the purposes of developing a security plan to deter and manage further aggressive or violent acts of a similar nature. The plan shall include,
but shall not be limited to, security considerations relating to all of the following:(1) Physical layout.
(2) Staffing, including staffing patterns and patient classification systems that contribute to the risk of violence or are insufficient to address the risk of violence.
(3) The adequacy of facility security systems, protocols, and policies, including, but not limited to, security personnel availability.
(4) Potential security risks associated with specific units or areas within the facility where there is a greater likelihood that a patient or other person may exhibit violent behavior.
(5) Uncontrolled public access to any part of the facility.
(6) Potential security risks related to working late-night or early morning hours.
(7) Employee security in areas surrounding the facility, including, but not limited to, employee parking areas.
(8) The use of a trained response team that can assist employees in violent situations.
(9) Policy and training related to appropriate responses to violent acts.
(10) Efforts to cooperate with local law enforcement regarding violent acts in the facility.
(b) In developing the plan, specified in subdivision (a), the hospital shall consider guidelines or standards on violence in health care facilities issued by the department, the Division
of Occupational Safety and Health, and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. As part of the security plan, a hospital shall adopt security policies, including, but not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Personnel training policies designed to protect personnel, patients, and visitors from aggressive or violent behavior, including education on how to recognize the potential for violence, how and when to seek assistance to prevent or respond to violence, and how to report incidents of violence to the appropriate law enforcement officials.
(2) A system for responding to incidents and situations involving violence or the risk of violence, including, but not limited to, procedures for rapid response by which an employee is provided with immediate assistance if the threat of violence against that employee appears to be imminent, or if a violent act has occurred
or is occurring.
(3) A system for investigating violent incidents and situations involving violence or the risk of violence. When investigating these incidents, the employer shall interview any employee who was involved in the incident or situation.
(4) A system for reporting, monitoring, and recordkeeping of violent incidents and situations involving the risk of violence.
(5) A system for reporting incidents of violence to the department pursuant to subdivision (i).
(6) Modifications to job design, staffing, security, equipment, or facilities as determined necessary to prevent or address violence against hospital employees.
(c) In developing the plan and the assessment, the hospital shall
consult with affected employees, including the recognized collective bargaining agent or agents, if any, and members of the hospital medical staff organized pursuant to Section 2282 of the Business and Professions Code. This consultation may occur through hospital committees.
(d) The individual or members of a hospital committee responsible for developing the security plan shall be familiar with all of the following:
(1) The role of security in hospital operations.
(2) Hospital organization.
(3) Protective measures, including alarms and access control.
(4) The handling of disturbed patients, visitors, and employees.
(5) Identification of aggressive and violent predicting factors.
(6) Hospital safety and emergency preparedness.
(7) The rudiments of documenting and reporting crimes, including, by way of example, not disturbing a crime scene.
(e) The hospital shall have sufficient personnel to provide security pursuant to the security plan developed pursuant to subdivision (a). Persons regularly assigned to provide security in a hospital setting shall be trained regarding the role of security in hospital operations, including the identification of aggressive and violent predicting factors and management of violent disturbances.
(f) Any act of assault, as defined in Section 240 of the Penal Code, or battery, as defined in Section 242 of the Penal Code,
that results in injury or involves the use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon, against any on-duty hospital personnel shall be reported to the local law enforcement agency within 24 hours of the incident. Any other act of assault, as defined in Section 240 of the Penal Code, or battery, as defined in Section 242 of the Penal Code, against any on-duty hospital personnel may be reported to the local law enforcement agency within 72 hours of the incident. No health facility or employee of a health facility who reports a known or suspected instance of assault or battery pursuant to this section shall be civilly or criminally liable for any report required by this section. No health facility or employee of a health facility who reports a known or suspected instance of assault or battery that is authorized, but not required, by this section, shall be civilly or criminally liable for the report authorized by this section unless it can be proven that a false report was made and the health facility or its
employee knew that the report was false or was made with reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the report, and any health facility or employee of a health facility who makes a report known to be false or with reckless disregard of the truth or falsity of the report shall be liable for any damages caused. Any individual knowingly interfering with or obstructing the lawful reporting process shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. “Dangerous weapon,” as used in this section, means any weapon the possession or concealed carrying of which is prohibited by any provision listed in Section 16590 of the Penal Code.
(g) Each hospital shall provide evaluation and treatment for an employee who is injured or is otherwise a victim of a violent incident and shall, upon the request of the employee, provide access to followup counseling to address trauma or distress experienced by the employee, including, but not limited to, individual crisis counseling,
support group counseling, peer assistance, and professional referrals.
(h) A hospital shall not prohibit an employee from, or take punitive or retaliatory action against an employee for, seeking assistance and intervention from local emergency services or law enforcement when a violent incident occurs, or from filing a police report or criminal charges against the individual who committed the violence..
(i) (1) A hospital shall report to the department any incident of assault, as defined in Section 240 of the Penal Code, or battery, as defined in Section 242 of the Penal Code, against a hospital employee or patient that is committed by a patient or a person
accompanying a patient. This report shall include the date and time of the incident, whether the victim was a hospital employee or a patient, the unit in which the incident occurred, a description of the circumstances surrounding the incident, and the hospital’s response to the incident.
(2) (A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), a hospital shall report an incident to which paragraph (1) applies to the department within 72 hours.
(B) A hospital shall report to the department within 24 hours any incident to which paragraph (1) applies that results in injury, involves the use of a firearm or other dangerous weapon, or presents an urgent or emergent threat to the welfare, health, or safety of patients, personnel, or visitors.
(j) The department shall make an onsite inspection or investigation
within 48 hours, or two business days, whichever is greater, of the receipt of a report from a hospital pursuant to subdivision (i) that indicates an ongoing, urgent, or emergent threat of imminent danger of death or serious bodily harm to patients, personnel, or visitors.
(k)The department may assess an administrative penalty against a hospital for violation of this section or Section 1257.8. Pursuant to Section 1280.1, an additional administrative penalty may be assessed for a violation of this section or Section 1257.8 that results in immediate jeopardy to the health or safety of a patient.
(k) If a hospital fails to report an incident of assault
or battery pursuant to subdivision (i), the department may assess a civil penalty against the hospital in an amount not to exceed one hundred dollars ($100) per day for each day that the incident is not reported following the initial 72-hour or 24-hour period, as applicable pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (i).
(l) (1) Beginning on January 1, 2014, and annually thereafter, the department shall report to the relevant fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature information, in a manner that protects patient and employee confidentiality, regarding incidents of violence at hospitals, that includes, but is not limited to, the total number of reports and what specific hospitals filed reports pursuant to subdivision (i), the outcome of any inspection or investigation initiated pursuant to subdivision (j), the amount of any administrative penalty levied against a hospital pursuant to
subdivision (k), and recommendations on how to prevent incidents of violence at hospitals.
(2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed pursuant to this subdivision is inoperative on January 1, 2018, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.
(3) A report to be submitted pursuant to this subdivision shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.