Texas HSC Chapter 331 · SB 240
Survey-Defensible Workplace Violence Prevention Programs for Healthcare Facilities
Texas now requires every covered healthcare facility to maintain a written workplace violence prevention program — committee, plan, annual training, reporting policy, and an annual evaluation to your governing body. VIGILO builds that program, documents it the way a surveyor reads it, and keeps it current year after year.
Flat-fee engagements. Texas-first, Houston metro. Compliance, training, and consulting — not security staffing.
Built on primary sources & recognized standards
- Aligned to HSC Chapter 331 / SB 240
- Mapped to 26 TAC §133.55 & PL 2024-10
- Joint Commission-ready documentation
- OSHA General Duty Clause framework
- Bilingual (English / Spanish) training
The exposure is no longer hypothetical
Show me the program.
Healthcare workers absorb the overwhelming share of workplace violence in the United States. The healthcare and social assistance sector recorded an intentional-injury rate roughly five times that of the overall private sector — 10.4 versus 2.1 incidents per 10,000 full-time workers (BLS, 2018) — and healthcare workers bear roughly three-quarters of all nonfatal workplace-violence injuries that result in days away from work.
Since September 1, 2024, covered facilities have been required to adopt and implement a workplace violence prevention program under Health & Safety Code Chapter 331 (created by SB 240, 88th Legislature, 2023). Chapter 331 carries no dedicated fine schedule — which is precisely why it is easy to under-prepare. The exposure surfaces as a licensure-survey deficiency and in litigation discovery, where the first document opposing counsel requests is your written plan, your committee minutes, and your training records.
Most facilities have pieces. Few have a binder that holds together.
HSC Chapter 331 — the six required elements
- 01A WVP committee (RN providing direct care; physician if employed; security-services employee if employed).
- 02A written, facility-specific WVP policy and plan.
- 03Employee training at least annually.
- 04A confidential reporting policy with anti-retaliation protection.
- 05Post-incident response — acute treatment + work-assignment adjustment.
- 06An annual plan evaluation reported to your governing body.
Source: Texas HSC Chapter 331 (SB 240, 2023); 26 TAC §133.55; HHSC PL 2024-10.
How VIGILO helps
One firm, the full compliance lifecycle
Survey-Readiness Audit
A scored gap report against the Chapter 331 / 26 TAC §133.55 / PL 2024-10 / Joint Commission checklist.
Flat fee · $500–$1,500
Details →Workplace Violence Prevention Programs
The complete, facility-specific program of record — committee, plan, training, and binder.
Flat fee · $2,500–$6,000
Details →Annual Program Reviews
Your Chapter 331 program of record: annual evaluation, training refresh, and committee support.
Subscription · $1,500–$3,600 / yr per site
Details →Citation-Remediation / Rapid Response
Plan-of-correction support and documentation reconstruction when you are days from a deadline.
Flat fee · $2,500–$5,000
Details →De-Escalation Training
Bilingual (English / Spanish) de-escalation and threat-response training for clinical settings.
$1,500–$2,500 / training day
Details →Workplace Violence Risk Assessments
A documented environment-of-care worksite analysis, written the way a surveyor reads it.
Flat fee · scoped per engagement
Details →Built for every covered facility class
Who we serve
Chapter 331 does not treat every facility the same — each setting has its own committee composition, risk profile, and surveyor questions.
Healthcare Systems
Multi-site programs standardized across every covered facility class.
See compliance path →Hospitals
Covered under HSC Ch. 331 & 26 TAC §133.55 — committee, plan, training, annual evaluation.
See compliance path →Emergency Departments & FSEDs
Highest-risk units; FSEDs are a named covered facility class under Ch. 331.
See compliance path →Behavioral Health Facilities
Concentrated behavioral risk; plan must reflect this population, not generic threats.
See compliance path →Ambulatory Surgery Centers (ASCs)
A named covered facility class under HSC Ch. 331.
See compliance path →Clinics & Medical Groups
Private physician practices are excluded from Ch. 331; TJC/OSHA best practice still applies.
See compliance path →Long-Term Care & Nursing Facilities
Covered if the facility employs two or more registered nurses.
See compliance path →Home Health & Hospice (HCSSA)
Covered via PL 2024-10 when the agency employs two or more registered nurses.
See compliance path →Speaking the language of surveyors
We sell the binder a surveyor opens — not a class.
National training vendors sell a course and a certification card. Law firms explain the statute and stop. VIGILO does the work in between: the documented, survey-defensible program that ties your training, committee, policies, and annual evaluation into one evidence file — organized around what surveyors actually ask, review, and require.
- 01What surveyors ask
- 02What surveyors review
- 03Required documentation
- 04Common deficiencies
- 05How to prepare
- 06How VIGILO helps
Authority you can verify
Built on credentials, not personalities
VIGILO is led by a physician executive and healthcare compliance leader (MD, MHA), with a veteran Texas peace officer and certified de-escalation instructor serving as training advisor. We reference our team by role and credential, and align our methods to recognized healthcare safety and security bodies of knowledge, including IAHSS and CHPA frameworks.
Every compliance claim we make is tied to the statute, rule, standard, or guidance it comes from. This is an authority practice; correctness is the product.
VIGILO provides compliance, training, and consulting assistance and supports survey-readiness and preparedness. We do not guarantee safety outcomes or the prevention of violent incidents.
Frequently asked questions
Healthcare WVP compliance, answered
What is healthcare workplace violence prevention?
Healthcare workplace violence prevention is a documented program — required of covered Texas facilities under Health & Safety Code Chapter 331 — that combines a workplace violence prevention committee, a written facility-specific plan, at-least-annual staff training, a confidential anti-retaliation reporting policy, post-incident response, and an annual evaluation reported to the facility’s governing body. It is reinforced by Joint Commission requirements and OSHA’s General Duty Clause.
What does Texas SB 240 / Chapter 331 require my facility to do?
Chapter 331 requires covered facilities to maintain a WVP committee (including an RN providing direct care, a physician providing direct care if any are employed, and a security-services employee if any are employed), a written plan, annual training, a confidential reporting and anti-retaliation policy, post-incident response, and an annual plan evaluation to the governing body. The compliance deadline was September 1, 2024.
Is there a fine for non-compliance with Chapter 331?
Chapter 331 does not carry a dedicated fine schedule. Exposure surfaces instead as a deficiency at your licensure survey and through discovery in post-incident litigation, where your written plan, committee minutes, and training records become evidence. The practical risk is survey-readiness and litigation exposure, not a fixed penalty.
How often does healthcare staff need workplace violence training?
Under Chapter 331, training must occur at least annually. The Joint Commission requires training at orientation, annually, and whenever the workplace violence prevention program changes. VIGILO ties your training to this statutory cadence and documents each session for your survey file.
What documentation do surveyors review for workplace violence prevention?
Surveyors typically review your written WVP plan, your committee charter and meeting minutes, training rosters and content, your confidential reporting and anti-retaliation policy, incident logs with tracking and trending, post-incident response records, and your annual plan-evaluation report to the governing body. VIGILO assembles these into a single survey-readiness binder.
Know exactly where you stand
A Survey-Readiness Audit gives you a scored gap report against every standard that applies to your facility — Chapter 331, 26 TAC §133.55, PL 2024-10, the Joint Commission, and OSHA — in one document.