Hospital emergency departments; required security plan; regulations. Directs the Board of Health to amend its regulations to require every hospital with an emergency department to establish a security plan. The bill requires that such security plan be developed using standards established by the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety or other industry standard and be based on the results of a security risk assessment of each emergency department location of the hospital. The bill requires that the security plan include the presence of at least one off-duty law-enforcement officer or trained security personnel who is present in the emergency department at all times as indicated to be necessary and appropriate by the security risk assessment. The bill provides for a waiver from the requirement that at least one off-duty law-enforcement officer or trained security personnel be present at all times in the emergency department if the hospital demonstrates that a different level of security is necessary and appropriate for any of its emergency departments based upon findings in the security risk assessment.

Statutes affected:
Senate: Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/11/23 23101960D: 32.1-127
Senate: Committee substitute printed 23105296D-S1: 32.1-127
Senate: Bill text as passed Senate and House (SB827ER): 32.1-127
Governor: Acts of Assembly Chapter text (CHAP0417): 32.1-127