Title 23
Health and Safety

Chapter 17.28
Hospital Workplace Violence Protection Act

§ 23-17.28-5. Safety assessments — Preventive programs.

(a) All hospitals licensed in the state of Rhode Island shall:

(1) Create a workplace safety committee that shall conduct periodic security and safety assessments to identify existing or potential hazards for assaults committed against employees;

(2) Develop and implement an assault prevention and protection program for employees based on assessments conducted under subsection (a)(1); and

(3) Provide assault prevention and protection training on a regular and ongoing basis for employees.

(b) An assessment conducted under subsection (a)(1) shall include, but need not be limited to:

(1) Keeping track of the frequency of assaults committed against employees that occur on the premises of the hospital; and

(2) Identifying the causes and consequences of assaults against employees.

(c) An assault prevention and protection program developed and implemented by a hospital under subsection (a)(2) shall be based on an assessment conducted under subsection (a)(1) and shall address security considerations related to the following:

(1) Physical attributes of the hospital setting;

(2) Staffing plans, including security staffing;

(3) Personnel policies;

(4) First aid and emergency procedures;

(5) Procedures for reporting assaults; and

(6) Education and training for employees.

(d) Assault prevention and protection training required under subsection (a)(3) shall address the following topics:

(1) General safety and personal safety procedures;

(2) Escalation cycles for assaultive behaviors;

(3) Factors that predict assaultive behaviors;

(4) Techniques for obtaining medical history from a patient with assaultive behavior;

(5) Verbal and physical techniques to de-escalate and minimize assaultive behaviors;

(6) Strategies for avoiding physical harm and minimizing use of restraints;

(7) Restraint techniques consistent with regulatory requirements;

(8) Self-defense, including:

(i) The amount of physical force that is reasonably necessary to protect the employee or a third person from assault; and

(ii) The use of the least restrictive procedures necessary under the circumstances, in accordance with an approved behavior management plan, and any other methods of response approved by the hospital;

(9) Procedures for documenting and reporting incidents involving assaultive behaviors;

(10) Programs for post-incident counseling for employees affected by the assaultive behavior and follow-ups as needed;

(11) Resources available to employees for coping with assaults; and

(12) The hospital’s workplace assault prevention and protection program.

(e) Hospitals shall provide assault prevention and protection training to a new employee within ninety (90) days of the employee’s initial hiring date.

(f) A hospital employer may use classes, video recordings, brochures, verbal or written training, or any other training that the employer determines to be appropriate, based on an employee’s job duties, under the assault prevention and protection program developed by the employer.

(g) At least once every two (2) years, a hospital shall establish, in coordination with the hospital’s workplace safety committee, a process by which the committee shall review the hospital’s assault prevention and protection program developed and implemented under subsection (a)(2) in order to evaluate the efficacy of the program and consider any changes to the program.