Texas SB 240 · Primary source
26 TAC §511.79: Workplace Violence Prevention for Limited Services Rural Hospitals
26 TAC §511.79 is the HHSC rule that implements Chapter 331 workplace violence prevention for limited services rural hospitals (LSRHs). Adopted September 19, 2025 and effective October 9, 2025, it requires an LSRH to establish or authorize a WVP committee and maintain the written policy, plan, training, reporting, post-incident response, and annual governing-body evaluation the statute prescribes — checked at the LSRH licensure survey.
On this page
Section 01
What 26 TAC §511.79 is
The limited services rural hospital is Texas’s newest hospital license class, with its own licensing chapter — 26 TAC Chapter 511. When HHSC wrote the hospital WVP rule into Chapter 505, LSRHs needed their own parallel provision; §511.79 is that rule. It was adopted September 19, 2025 (TRD-202503314) and took effect October 9, 2025, alongside related amendments to the chapter’s definitions and application provisions.
Substantively it tracks the statute and the general-hospital rule: establish or authorize a WVP committee to develop the plan, then adopt, implement, and enforce the written policy and plan with training, confidential anti-retaliation reporting, post-incident response, and the annual evaluation reported to the governing body.
Section 02
The small-facility problem — and what the statute actually demands
An LSRH runs lean. The statutory committee floor still applies — an RN providing direct patient care, a physician providing direct patient care, and a security-services employee if any and if practicable — but nothing in Chapter 331 requires a large committee, a particular meeting cadence, or dedicated security staffing. A rural hospital that documents a compliant three-role committee, re-authorizes an existing committee, and states plainly that it employs no security personnel is meeting the rule, not cutting a corner.
The plan must be based on the practice setting: for most LSRHs that means an emergency-heavy risk profile, minimal overnight staffing, long law-enforcement response times, and transfer-and-boarding pressure. A metro hospital’s template misstates all four — and "facility-specific" is the first thing a surveyor tests.
Section 03
How §511.79 relates to §505.55 and Chapter 331
| HSC Chapter 331 | The statute — applies to all eight covered classes, LSRHs included as licensed hospitals. |
|---|---|
| 26 TAC §505.55 | The general & special hospital rule (Ch. 505). Does not govern LSRHs. |
| 26 TAC §511.79 | The LSRH rule (Ch. 511) — the licensure condition an LSRH surveyor checks. |
Citing §505.55 to an LSRH — or §511.79 to a general hospital — is a scope error. Each license class answers to its own chapter.
Section 04
How VIGILO helps rural hospitals
VIGILO builds right-sized Chapter 331 programs for small and rural facilities — a committee the roster can actually sustain, a plan written to the real risk profile, and the annual evaluation cycle documented for survey. Start with a survey-readiness audit, or see the broader hospital compliance path.
Key dates
Dates that matter
- Sept. 1, 2024
Statutory deadline (hospitals)
Covered hospitals, LSRHs included, must have adopted and implemented a written WVP policy and plan under Chapter 331.
- Sept. 19, 2025
Rule adopted
§511.79 adopted (TRD-202503314) with related amendments to 26 TAC Chapter 511.
- Oct. 9, 2025
Rule effective
The LSRH workplace violence prevention rule takes effect.
Primary sources
- 26 TAC §511.79 — Workplace Violence Prevention (limited services rural hospitals); adopted Sept. 19, 2025 (TRD-202503314), effective Oct. 9, 2025.
- Texas Health & Safety Code Chapter 331 (added by SB 240, 88th Legislature, 2023; amended by SB 463, 89th Legislature, 2025).
- 26 TAC §505.55 — the parallel rule for general & special hospitals.
Part of the Texas SB 240 compliance hub.
Frequently asked
Frequently asked questions
What is 26 TAC §511.79?
It is the HHSC rule implementing Chapter 331 workplace violence prevention for limited services rural hospitals — the dedicated LSRH license class under 26 TAC Chapter 511. Adopted September 19, 2025 and effective October 9, 2025, it requires the committee, written policy and plan, annual training, confidential anti-retaliation reporting, post-incident response, and annual governing-body evaluation, checked at the LSRH licensure survey.
Does 26 TAC §505.55 apply to a limited services rural hospital?
No. §505.55 governs general and special hospitals under Chapter 505. LSRHs are licensed under Chapter 511 and answer to §511.79. The obligations are parallel, but a surveyor cites the rule for your license class.
Does a small rural hospital need a security officer on the committee?
Only if it employs one, and only if practicable — that is the statutory formulation. A rural hospital with no security staff should say so in its committee documentation rather than leave the seat unexplained. The RN-providing-direct-care and physician seats remain required.
When did §511.79 take effect?
October 9, 2025. It was adopted September 19, 2025 (TRD-202503314) as part of a package amending the LSRH licensing chapter. The underlying statutory obligation for hospitals dates to Chapter 331’s September 1, 2024 compliance deadline.
Find out where your program stands
A Survey-Readiness Audit scores your committee, plan, training, reporting policy, and governing-body evaluation against every applicable Chapter 331 instrument — in one document.