AN ACT enacting the hospital violence protection act.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as The Hospital Violence Protection Act of 2023.

SECTION 2.  Article 5 of Chapter 131E of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new Part to read:

Part 3A. Hospital Violence Protection Act.

§ 131E‑88.  Law enforcement officers required in emergency departments.

(a)        As used in this Part, law enforcement officer means (i) a sworn law enforcement officer or (ii) a special police officer, as defined in subdivision (b)(3) of G.S. 74E‑6, who is duly authorized to carry a concealed weapon.

(b)        Each hospital licensed under this Article that has an emergency department shall conduct a security risk assessment and develop and implement a security plan with protocols to ensure that at least one law enforcement officer is present at all times in the emergency department or on the same campus as the emergency department, unless excluded by a determination of the Department of Health and Human Services under subsection (c) of this section. The security plan required by this section shall include all of the following components:

(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 all of the following:

a.         Standards established by a nationally recognized organization approved by the Department that has experience educating and certifying professionals involved in managing and directing security and safety programs in healthcare facilities.

b.         The results of a security risk assessment of the emergency department.

c.         Risks for the emergency department identified in consultation with the emergency department's medical director and nurse leadership, law enforcement officers employed by the hospital, and a local law enforcement representative. These identified risks shall take into consideration the hospital's trauma level designation, overall patient volume, volume of psychiatric and forensic patients, incidents of violence against staff and level of injuries sustained from such violence, and prevalence of crime in the community.

(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, unless an exemption is approved under subsection (c) of this section.

(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 patient intervention activities, crisis intervention, and trauma‑informed approaches.

(c)        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 emergency departments based upon findings in the security risk assessment required under sub‑subdivision (b)(3)b. of this section. A hospital that determines that a different level of security is necessary and appropriate shall include the basis for that determination in its security risk assessment and request an exemption for this requirement from the Department. The hospital shall also provide appropriate hospital workplace violence prevention program training, education, and resources to staff, practitioners, and non‑law enforcement officer security personnel.

§ 131E‑88.2.  Report.

(a)        Annually by September 1, the Administrative Office of the Courts shall report to the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Service Regulation, the number of persons charged and convicted during the preceding calendar year of a crime under G.S. 14‑34.6.

(b)        Annually by September 1, the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Service Regulation, shall collect the following data from hospitals for the preceding calendar year: (i) 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, (ii) 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 (iii) 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.

(c)        The Department of Health and Human Services shall compile the information required by subsections (a) and (b) of this section, including any recommendations to decrease the incidents of violence in hospitals and to decrease assaults on hospital personnel, and report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services annually by December 1.

SECTION 3.(a)  By October 1, 2023, the Department of Health and Human Services shall notify all hospitals licensed under Article 5 of Chapter 131E of the General Statutes about the requirements of Part 3A of Article 5 of Chapter 131E of the General Statutes, including the reporting requirements required by G.S. 131E‑88.2(b), as enacted by this act.

SECTION 3.(b)  The first reports under G.S. 131E‑88.2(a) and (b), as enacted by this act, are due on or before September 1, 2025. The first report required by G.S. 131E‑88.2(c), as enacted by this act, is due on or before December 1, 2025.

SECTION 4.  Section 3 of this act is effective when it becomes law. The remainder of this act becomes effective October 1, 2024.