85R11500 LED-F     By: Thompson of Harris H.B. No. 3152       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the care and transportation provided to a sexual   assault survivor by a health care facility.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 323.001, Health and Safety Code, is   amended by adding Subdivision (3-a) to read as follows:                (3-a)  "SAFE-ready facility" means a health care   facility designated as a sexual assault forensic exam-ready   facility under Section 323.0015.          SECTION 2.  Chapter 323, Health and Safety Code, is amended   by adding Section 323.0015 to read as follows:          Sec. 323.0015.  SAFE-READY FACILITIES.  The department shall   designate a health care facility as a sexual assault forensic   exam-ready facility, or SAFE-ready facility, if the facility   employs or contracts with a certified sexual assault nurse examiner   or specially trained physician to be available to perform a   forensic medical examination on a sexual assault survivor 24 hours   a day, seven days a week.          SECTION 3.  Section 323.004, Health and Safety Code, is   amended by amending Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) and adding   Subsection (a-3) to read as follows:          (a-1)  A facility that is not a SAFE-ready [health care]   facility [designated in a community-wide plan as the primary health   care facility in the community for treating sexual assault   survivors] shall inform the sexual assault survivor that:                (1)  the facility is not a SAFE-ready [the designated]   facility and provide to the survivor the name and location of the   closest SAFE-ready [designated] facility; and                (2)  the survivor is entitled, at the survivor's   option:                      (A)  to receive the care described by Subsection   (b) at that facility, subject to Subsection (b-1); or                      (B)  to be stabilized and to be transferred to and   receive the care described by Subsection (b) at a SAFE-ready   [health care] facility [designated in a community-wide plan as the   primary health care facility in the community for treating sexual   assault survivors].          (a-2)  If a sexual assault survivor chooses to be transferred   under Subsection (a-1)(2)(B), after obtaining the survivor's   written, signed consent to the transfer, the facility shall   stabilize and transfer the survivor to a SAFE-ready [health care]   facility [in the community designated in a community-wide plan as   the primary health care facility in the community for treating   sexual assault survivors], which shall provide care to the survivor   in accordance with Subsection (b).          (a-3)  A health care facility that is not a SAFE-ready   facility shall develop and submit to the department a   transportation plan for a sexual assault survivor who chooses to be   transferred to a SAFE-ready facility under Subsection (a-1)(2)(B).     The transportation plan must include procedures for:                (1)  transporting the survivor, including a survivor   with a disability, to a SAFE-ready facility regardless of the   survivor's ability to pay;                (2)  maintaining survivor confidentiality;                (3)  returning the survivor to the survivor's residence   or a safe place agreed to by the survivor after the forensic medical   examination;                (4)  obtaining confirmation before the survivor is   transferred that the SAFE-ready facility is able to provide a   forensic medical examination to the survivor;                (5)  providing the name of a liaison at the receiving   SAFE-ready facility who will be available to the survivor should   the survivor seek help;                (6)  minimizing the survivor's travel and waiting   times; and                (7)  to the extent possible, minimizing additional   trauma to the survivor.          SECTION 4.  Section 323.0045(c), Health and Safety Code, is   amended to read as follows:          (c)  Each health care facility that has an emergency   department and that is not a SAFE-ready [health care] facility   [designated in a community-wide plan as the primary health care   facility in the community for treating sexual assault survivors]   shall develop a plan to train personnel on sexual assault forensic   evidence collection.          SECTION 5.  Section 323.008, Health and Safety Code, is   amended to read as follows:          Sec. 323.008.  DATA PUBLICATION.  The department shall post   on the department's Internet website a list of all hospitals that   are designated as SAFE-ready facilities [in a community-wide plan   as the primary health care facility in the community for treating   sexual assault survivors]. The department shall update the list   annually.          SECTION 6.  Section 323.001(1), Health and Safety Code, is   repealed.          SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.