SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 11

(By Senators Yost, Facemire, Kessler, Romano, D. Hall, Snyder, Unger, Plymale, Sypolt and Williams)

Requesting the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study workplace safety for employees at state-operated behavioral health facilities.

            Whereas, The State of West Virginia operates two hospitals dedicated to the care of patients with acute and chronic psychiatric illnesses, and operates additional facilities providing long-term and residential care for patients with complex behavioral, developmental and emotional needs; and

            Whereas, Well-trained and experienced personnel are an essential component to the provision of quality care for these patients; and

            Whereas, Some patients with psychiatric, behavioral, developmental or emotional conditions may become aggressive and violent at times, often in unpredictable ways, and these types of behaviors pose a significant risk to the health and safety of the employees and to other patients in the health facilities; and

            Whereas, Many of the patients in the state‛s psychiatric hospitals have been committed through the criminal justice system after having allegedly committed violent crimes and the psychiatric hospitals do not have the authority to refuse to receive these patients or defer their care to another institution; and

            Whereas, During the 2014 calendar year, worker injuries due to assaults by patients at the state‛s two psychiatric hospitals resulted in 98 medical claims and 789 lost work hours; and

            Whereas, Considerable time and attention have been devoted to the articulation and awareness of the rights of patients in behavioral health facilities, but there has been significantly less attention given to the rights of the health care workers to a safe and reasonable work environment and to development of procedures, programs and options for the safety of these health care workers; and

            Whereas, The Legislature‛s Joint Committee on Labor and Worker Safety Issues began to study the general issue of employee safety in all state hospitals during the Legislature‛s interim period of 2014-2015 and, in the process, became more fully aware of the difficult and sometimes conflicting legal, administrative and educational requirements that affect the safety of health care workers in our state‛s behavioral health facilities; and

            Whereas, The Joint Committee on Labor and Worker Safety Issues has recommended that the Joint Committee on Government and Finance devote further study dedicated to all issues relating to the safety of workers in state-operated behavioral health facilities; therefore, be it

            Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

            That the Legislature hereby requests the Joint Committee on Government and Finance study workplace safety for employees at state-operated behavioral health facilities; and, be it

            Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance is hereby requested to study all matters relating to the safety of health care workers in state-operated behavioral health facilities, including education, training, staffing levels (acuity), hiring processes, root cause analyses, response times, incident and injury statistics, work loss and other costs of worker injuries, methods for better communication between staff and supervisors and all other material and issues relevant to this topic; and, be it

            Further Resolved, That if the Joint Committee on Government and Finance finds it appropriate, this study be referred to a subcommittee created for this purpose and dedicated to this topic; and, be it

            Further Resolved, That the Joint Committee on Government and Finance report to the regular session of the Legislature, 2016, on its findings, conclusions and recommendations, together with drafts of any legislation necessary to effectuate its recommendations; and, be it

            Further Resolved, That the expenses necessary to conduct this study, to prepare a report and to draft necessary legislation be paid from legislative appropriations to the Joint Committee on Government and Finance.