§ 131E-88.2.  Reports.

(a) Annually by October 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.

(b) The Department of Health and Human Services shall compile the information required by subsection (a) of this section and shall share that data with the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association, the North Carolina Association of Chiefs of Police, and the North Carolina Emergency Management Association. The Department shall request these organizations examine the data and make recommendations to the Department to decrease the incidences of violence in hospitals and to decrease assaults on hospital personnel.

(c) The Department shall compile the information required by subsections (a) and (b) of this section and report findings and recommendations to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Health and Human Services annually by December 1. (2023-129, s. 8.1(a).)