Hospital bollard bill, sparked by KXAN, gets House hearing

by: Matt Grant

Project Summary:

This story is part of KXAN’s “Preventing Disaster” investigation, which initially published on May 15, 2024. The project follows a fatal car crash into an Austin hospital’s emergency room earlier that year. Our team took a broader look at safety concerns with that crash and hundreds of others across the nation – including whether medical sites had security barriers – known as bollards – at their entrances. Experts say those could stop crashes from happening.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — A bill sparked by a series of KXAN investigations into hospital safety following a deadly emergency room crash at St. David’s North Austin Medical Center last year is one step closer to becoming law.

The House Public Health Committee heard testimony Monday on Senate Bill 660, which would require crash-rated safety bollards at Texas hospital ER entrances. Rep. Toni Rose, D-Dallas, who authored the House version of the bill, introduced a new change Monday morning that might help the bill’s chances, but safety advocates worry could still leave some hospitals vulnerable. Under the new compromise — aimed at addressing concerns from the Texas Hospital Association — the bill would only apply to hospitals located in an area with a population of 1.2 million or more.

That would limit the measure to Travis, Bexar, Collin, Dallas, Harris and Tarrant counties, according to recent population data.

A map showing the counties where hospitals would be required to install crash-rated bollards if Senate Bill 660 passes and is signed into law. (KXAN Graphic/Wendy Gonzalez)

“Despite their life-saving potential,” Rose said, “a KXAN investigation found many Central Texas hospitals lack adequate bollard protection.”

To compromise during the legislative process, a representative for Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, who introduced the bill, said it might have to be adjusted again to only require bollards for new hospital construction and remodels.

‘Unfunded mandate’

For months, the proposal to mandate the vertical security barriers had placed a wedge between the state’s nurses, who back the bill, and the lobbyist arm representing the hospitals paying them.

“The safety of nurses and hospital staff should be the highest priority of any health care organization,” the Texas Nurses Association previously told KXAN. “Any and all protection should be considered to ensure our health care providers can come to work with confidence that they are protected and working in a safe environment.”

The organization submitted written testimony in March in support of the bill.

“If a point of entry to the facility is vulnerable to harm by a motor vehicle, facilities should consider whether the installation of bollards is necessary, regardless of whether the point of entry is connected to an emergency room,” TNA General Counsel Jack Frazee wrote.

While the bill has attracted bipartisan support, it has also found strong opposition from the Texas Hospital Association, which called the bill an “unfunded mandate” and an “unreasonable administrative cost burden.”

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