CHAPTER 256. SAFE PATIENT HANDLING AND MOVEMENT PRACTICES
HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE
TITLE 4. HEALTH FACILITIES
SUBTITLE B. LICENSING OF HEALTH FACILITIES
CHAPTER 256. SAFE PATIENT HANDLING AND MOVEMENT PRACTICES
Sec. 256.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Hospital" means a general or special hospital, as defined
by Section 241.003, a private mental hospital licensed under
Chapter 577, or another hospital that is maintained or operated
by the state.
(2) "Nursing home" means an institution licensed under Chapter
242.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
401, Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2006.
Sec. 256.002. REQUIRED SAFE PATIENT HANDLING AND MOVEMENT
POLICY. (a) The governing body of a hospital or the quality
assurance committee of a nursing home shall adopt and ensure
implementation of a policy to identify, assess, and develop
strategies to control risk of injury to patients and nurses
associated with the lifting, transferring, repositioning, or
movement of a patient.
(b) The policy shall establish a process that, at a minimum,
includes:
(1) analysis of the risk of injury to both patients and nurses
posed by the patient handling needs of the patient populations
served by the hospital or nursing home and the physical
environment in which patient handling and movement occurs;
(2) education of nurses in the identification, assessment, and
control of risks of injury to patients and nurses during patient
handling;
(3) evaluation of alternative ways to reduce risks associated
with patient handling, including evaluation of equipment and the
environment;
(4) restriction, to the extent feasible with existing equipment
and aids, of manual patient handling or movement of all or most
of a patient's weight to emergency, life-threatening, or
otherwise exceptional circumstances;
(5) collaboration with and annual report to the nurse staffing
committee;
(6) procedures for nurses to refuse to perform or be involved in
patient handling or movement that the nurse believes in good
faith will expose a patient or a nurse to an unacceptable risk of
injury;
(7) submission of an annual report to the governing body or the
quality assurance committee on activities related to the
identification, assessment, and development of strategies to
control risk of injury to patients and nurses associated with the
lifting, transferring, repositioning, or movement of a patient;
and
(8) in developing architectural plans for constructing or
remodeling a hospital or nursing home or a unit of a hospital or
nursing home in which patient handling and movement occurs,
consideration of the feasibility of incorporating patient
handling equipment or the physical space and construction design
needed to incorporate that equipment at a later date.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.
401, Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2006.