Mo. Rev. Stat. § 192.2475 — MO Code / Chapter 192 / Section 192.2475
192.2475 Report of abuse or neglect of in-home services or home health agency ...
Status: in_force

192.2475. Report of abuse or neglect of in-home services or home health agency client, duty — penalty — contents of report — investigation, procedure — confidentiality of report — immunity — retaliation prohibited, penalty — employee disqualification list — safe at home evaluations, procedure. — 1. When any adult day care worker; chiropractor; Christian Science practitioner; coroner; dentist; embalmer; emergency medical technician; employee of the departments of social services, mental health, or health and senior services; employee of a local area agency on aging or an organized area agency on aging program; firefighter; first responder, as defined in section 192.2405 ; funeral director; home health agency or home health agency employee; hospital and clinic personnel engaged in examination, care, or treatment of persons; in-home services owner, provider, operator, or employee; law enforcement officer; long-term care facility administrator or employee; medical examiner; medical resident or intern; mental health professional; minister; nurse; nurse practitioner; optometrist; other health practitioner; peace officer; pharmacist; physical therapist; physician; physician's assistant; podiatrist; probation or parole officer; psychologist; or social worker has reasonable cause to believe that an in-home services client has been abused or neglected, as a result of in-home services, he or she shall immediately report or cause a report to be made to the department. If the report is made by a physician of the in-home services client, the department shall maintain contact with the physician regarding the progress of the investigation.

2. Any person required in subsection 1 of this section to report or cause a report to be made to the department who fails to do so within a reasonable time after the act of abuse or neglect is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

3. The report shall contain the names and addresses of the in-home services provider agency, the in-home services employee, the in-home services client, the home health agency, the home health agency employee, information regarding the nature of the abuse or neglect, the name of the complainant, and any other information which might be helpful in an investigation.

4. In addition to those persons required to report under subsection 1 of this section, any other person having reasonable cause to believe that an in-home services client or home health patient has been abused or neglected by an in-home services employee or home health agency employee may report such information to the department.

5. If the investigation indicates possible abuse or neglect of an in-home services client or home health patient, the investigator shall refer the complaint together with his or her report to the department director or his or her designee for appropriate action. If, during the investigation or at its completion, the department has reasonable cause to believe that immediate action is necessary to protect the in-home services client or home health patient from abuse or neglect, the department or the local prosecuting attorney may, or the attorney general upon request of the department shall, file a petition for temporary care and protection of the in-home services client or home health patient in a circuit court of competent jurisdiction. The circuit court in which the petition is filed shall have equitable jurisdiction to issue an ex parte order granting the department authority for the temporary care and protection of the in-home services client or home health patient, for a period not to exceed thirty days.

6. Reports shall be confidential, as provided under section 192.2500 .

7. Anyone, except any person who has abused or neglected an in-home services client or home health patient, who makes a report pursuant to this section or who testifies in any administrative or judicial proceeding arising from the report shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability for making such a report or for testifying except for liability for perjury, unless such person acted negligently, recklessly, in bad faith, or with malicious purpose.

8. Within five working days after a report required to be made under this section is received, the person making the report shall be notified in writing of its receipt and of the initiation of the investigation.

9. No person who directs or exercises any authority in an in-home services provider agency or home health agency shall harass, dismiss or retaliate against an in-home services client or home health patient, or an in-home services employee or a home health agency employee because he or she or any member of his or her family has made a report of any violation or suspected violation of laws, standards or regulations applying to the in-home services provider agency or home health agency or any in-home services employee or home health agency employee which he or she has reasonable cause to believe has been committed or has occurred.

10. Any person who abuses or neglects an in-home services client or home health patient is subject to criminal prosecution under section 565.184 . If such person is an in-home services employee and has been found guilty by a court, and if the supervising in-home services provider willfully and knowingly failed to report known abuse by such employee to the department, the supervising in-home services provider may be subject to administrative penalties of one thousand dollars per violation to be collected by the department and the money received therefor shall be paid to the director of revenue and deposited in the state treasury to the credit of the general revenue fund. Any in-home services provider which has had administrative penalties imposed by the department or which has had its contract terminated may seek an administrative review of the department's action pursuant to chapter 621 . Any decision of the administrative hearing commission may be appealed to the circuit court in the county where the violation occurred for a trial de novo. For purposes of this subsection, the term "violation" means a determination of guilt by a court.

11. The department shall establish a quality assurance and supervision process for clients that requires an in-home services provider agency to conduct random visits to verify compliance with program standards and verify the accuracy of records kept by an in-home services employee.

12. The department shall maintain the employee disqualification list and place on the employee disqualification list the names of any persons who have been finally determined by the department, pursuant to section 192.2490 , to have recklessly, knowingly or purposely abused or neglected an in-home services client or home health patient while employed by an in-home services provider agency or home health agency. For purposes of this section only, "knowingly" and "recklessly" shall have the meanings that are ascribed to them in this section. A person acts "knowingly" with respect to the person's conduct when a reasonable person should be aware of the result caused by his or her conduct. A person acts "recklessly" when the person consciously disregards a substantial and unjustifiable risk that the person's conduct will result in serious physical injury and such disregard constitutes a gross deviation from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in the situation.

13. At the time a client has been assessed to determine the level of care as required by rule and is eligible for in-home services, the department shall conduct a safe at home evaluation to determine the client's physical, mental, and environmental capacity. The department shall develop the safe at home evaluation tool by rule in accordance with chapter 536 . The purpose of the safe at home evaluation is to assure that each client has the appropriate level of services and professionals involved in the client's care. The plan of service or care for each in-home services client shall be authorized by a nurse. The department may authorize the licensed in-home services nurse, in lieu of the department nurse, to conduct the assessment of the client's condition and to establish a plan of services or care. The department may use the expertise, services, or programs of other departments and agencies on a case-by-case basis to establish the plan of service or care. The department may, as indicated by the safe at home evaluation, refer any client to a mental health professional, as defined in 9 CSR 30- 4.030, for evaluation and treatment as necessary.

14. Authorized nurse visits shall occur at least twice annually to assess the client and the client's plan of services. The provider nurse shall report the results of his or her visits to the client's case manager. If the provider nurse believes that the plan of service requires alteration, the department shall be notified and the department shall make a client evaluation. All authorized nurse visits shall be reimbursed to the in-home services provider. All authorized nurse visits shall be reimbursed outside of the nursing home cap for in-home services clients whose services have reached one hundred percent of the average statewide charge for care and treatment in an intermediate care facility, provided that the services have been preauthorized by the department.

15. All in-home services clients shall be advised of their rights by the department or the department's designee at the initial evaluation. The rights shall include, but not be limited to, the right to call the department for any reason, including dissatisfaction with the provider or services. The department may contract for services relating to receiving such complaints. The department shall establish a process to receive such nonabuse and neglect calls other than the elder abuse and neglect hotline.

16. Subject to appropriations, all nurse visits authorized in sections 192.2400 to 192.2475 shall be reimbursed to the in-home services provider agency.

(L. 1992 S.B. 573 & 634, A.L. 2003 S.B. 556 & 311, A.L. 2003 2nd Ex. Sess. S.B. 4, A.L. 2010 S.B. 842, et al. merged with S.B. 1007, A.L. 2014 H.B. 1299 Revision § 192.1102, A.L. 2016 H.B. 2332 merged with S.B. 732) Effective 1-01-17 Transferred 2014; formerly 660.300