Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 111 - RULES OF DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY HEALTH › Chapter 111-8 - HEALTHCARE FACILITY REGULATION › Subject 111-8-68 - RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR RESIDENTIAL MENTAL HEALTH FACILITIES FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH › Rule 111-8-68-.03 - Definitions

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) "Abuse" means
				any unjustifiable intentional or grossly negligent act, exploitation or series
				of acts, or omission of acts which causes injury to a person, including but not
				limited to verbal abuse, assault or battery, failure to provide treatment or
				care, or sexual harassment.
(2)
				"Administrator" means the person, by whatever title used, whom the governing
				body has delegated the responsibility for the management and operation of the
				facility including the implementation of the rules and policies adopted by the
				governing body.
(3) "Behavior
				management" means those principles and techniques used by a facility to assist
				a patient in facilitating self-control, addressing inappropriate behavior, and
				achieving positive outcomes in a constructive and safe manner. Behavior
				management principles and techniques shall be used in accordance with the
				patient's treatment plan, written policies and procedures governing service
				expectations, treatment goals, safety, security, and these rules and
				regulations.
(4) "Board" means the
				Board of the Department of Community Health.
(5) "Board certified child psychiatrist"
				means a child psychiatrist who has successfully met the training and experience
				requirements and passed the examination in child psychiatry by the American
				Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
(6) "Board eligible child psychiatrist" means
				a child psychiatrist who has successfully met the training and experience
				requirements sufficient to be eligible for the examinations of the
				board.
(7) "Child care staff" means
				those staff members who provide direct care to patients twenty-four (24) hours
				a day under professional supervision.
(8) "Child psychiatrist" means a physician
				who successfully completed an accredited training program in child psychiatry
				consisting of two (2) years general psychiatry and two (2) years child
				psychiatry.
(9) "Department" means
				the Department of Community Health of the State of Georgia.
(10) "Emergency safety interventions" means
				those behavioral intervention techniques that are authorized under an emergency
				safety intervention plan and are utilized by properly trained staff in an
				urgent situation to prevent a patient from doing immediate harm to self or
				others.
(11) "Emergency safety
				intervention plan" means the plan developed by the facility utilizing a
				nationally recognized, evidence-based, training program for emergency safety
				intervention. The plan shall clearly identify the emergency safety
				interventions staff may utilize and those that may never be used.
(12) "Exploitation" means the illegal or
				improper use of a person or that person's resources through undue influence,
				coercion, harassment, duress, deception, false representation, false pretense,
				or other similar means for another person's profit or advantage.
(13) "Governing body" means the treatment
				facility authority created by the Georgia Hospital Act, O.C.G.A. §
									31-7-72, the board of trustees,
				the partnership, the corporation, the association, the person or the group of
				persons who maintain and control the facility. The governing body may or may
				not be the owner of the properties in which the facility services are
				provided.
(14) "Hospital" means any
				institution designed, equipped and staffed to receive two (2) or more persons
				for diagnosis, treatment and other health services under the supervision of a
				practitioner for periods continuing twenty-four (24) hours or longer, and in
				which professional policies are adopted by the governing body after
				consultation with the active professional staff.
(15) "Manual hold" means the application of
				physical force, without the use of any device, for the purpose of restricting
				the free movement of a patient's body and is considered a form of restraint. A
				manual hold does not include briefly holding the patient without undue force to
				calm or comfort the patient, holding the patient by the hand or by the
				shoulders or back to walk the patient safely from one area to another where the
				patient is not forcefully resisting the assistance, or assisting the patient in
				voluntarily participating in activities of daily living or other functional
				activities.
(16) "Mechanical
				restraint" means a device attached or adjacent to the patient's body that is
				not a prescribed and approved medical protection device, and that he or she
				cannot easily remove, that restricts freedom of movement or normal access to
				his or her body. A mechanical restraint does not include devices used to assist
				patients with appropriate positioning or posture secondary to physical
				impairments or disabilities.
(17)
				"Multidisciplinary staff" means staff of various disciplinary backgrounds who
				can address the physical, social, mental, educational, recreational and other
				needs of the patient.
(18)
				"Neglect" means the absence or omission of essential services to the degree
				that it harms or threatens with harm the physical or emotional health of a
				person.
(19) "Patient" means any
				person residing in a treatment facility for the express purpose of receiving
				diagnostic, treatment or other health services for physical or mental
				conditions.
(20) "Patient safety
				interventions" means the safety observations, supervision, and methods
				developed and implemented by the facility to ensure the safety of
				patients.
(21) "Patient safety
				plan" means the plan developed by the facility that outlines the requirements
				for patient monitoring to ensure the continuous provision of sufficient
				regular, special, and emergency observation and supervision of all patients
				twenty-four (24) hours a day.
(22)
				"Permit" means authorization granted by the department to the governing body to
				operate a treatment facility and signifies substantial compliance with these
				rules and regulations.
(23) "Plan
				of correction" means a written plan submitted by the governing body and
				acceptable to the Department. The plan shall identify the existing
				noncompliance of the treatment facility, the proposed procedures, methods,
				means and period of time to correct the noncompliance.
(24) "Practitioner" means physician, dentist
				or osteopathic physician authorized to provide care in Georgia.
(25) "Provisional permit" means authorization
				granted by the department to the governing body to operate a treatment facility
				on a conditional basis to allow a newly established treatment facility a
				reasonable but limited period of time to demonstrate operational procedures in
				substantial compliance with these rules and regulations; or to allow an
				existing treatment facility a reasonable length of time to comply with these
				rules and regulations, provided said treatment facility shall first present a
				plan of improvement acceptable to the department.
(26) "Pharmacist" means any person who is
				licensed to practice in this State under the provisions of the Georgia Pharmacy
				Practice Act, O.C.G.A. §
									26-4-5.
(27) "Physician" means any person who is
				authorized to practice medicine in this State under the provisions of the
				Composite State Board of Medical Examiners, O.C.G.A. §
									43-34-20
et
				seq.
(28) "Psychiatrist"
				means a physician who has successfully completed an accredited training program
				in psychiatry.
(29) "Qualified
				psychiatric nurse" means a nurse who holds a masters degree in psychiatric
				nursing from an accredited school of nursing.
(30) "Qualified psychologist" means any
				person who is licensed to practice in this State under the provisions of the
				Georgia Board of Examiners of Psychologists, O.C.G.A. §
									43-39-1 and who has training and
				experience in child and adolescent psychology.
(31) "Qualified social worker" means a social
				worker who has a masters degree in social work from an accredited school of
				social work.
(32) "Registered
				Nurse" (R.N.) means any person who holds a current license as a registered
				nurse issued by the State of Georgia.
(33) "Record(s)" means the individual files
				established and maintained by a facility which include data concerning a
				patient.
(34) "Residential mental
				health facility for children and youth" or "facility" is a sub-classification
				of a "Specialized Hospital" and is defined as a facility providing twenty-four
				(24) hour care and having the primary functions of diagnosing and treating
				patients to age twenty-one (21) with psychiatric disorders to restore them to
				an optimal level of functioning.
(35) "Seclusion" means the involuntary
				confinement of a patient away from other patients, due to imminent risk of harm
				to self or others, in a room or an area from which the patient is physically
				prevented from leaving.
(36)
				"Shall" means a mandatory requirement.
(37) "Specialized hospital" means any
				hospital which limits its admissions to persons whose physical or mental
				disability is of a specific class or type. The department shall use a sub
				classification which adequately describes the proposed service. This service
				shall be under the supervision of physicians.
(38) "Supervision" means the continued
				responsibility of the facility to take reasonable action to provide for the
				health, safety, and well-being of a patient while under the supervision of the
				facility or the agent or employee of the facility, including protection from
				physical, emotional, social, moral, financial harm, and personal exploitation
				while in care. The facility is responsible for providing the degree of
				supervision indicated by the patient's age, developmental level, physical,
				emotional, and social needs.
(39)
				"Time out" means a behavior management technique that restricts a patient for a
				brief period of time to a designated area from which the patient is not
				physically prevented from leaving, for the purpose of permitting the patient to
				de-escalate and for providing an opportunity for the patient to regain
				self-control.
O.C.G.A. Sec.
				  31-7-2.1.