Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 481 - Inspections and Appeals Department › Inspections Division › Chapter 52 - Dependent Adult Abuse in Facilities and Programs › Rule 481-52.1 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
The definitions set forth in Iowa Code section
				  235E.1 are incorporated herein
				  by reference. For purposes of this chapter, unless the context otherwise
				  requires, the following definitions apply:
"Caretaker"
means a person who is a staff
				  member of a facility or program who provides care, protection, or services to a
				  dependent adult voluntarily, by contract, through employment, or by order of
				  the court. For the purpose of an allegation of exploitation, if the
				  caretaker-dependent adult relationship started when a staff member was employed
				  in the facility, the staff member may be considered a caretaker after
				  employment is terminated.
"Confidentiality"
means the withholding of
				  information from any manner of communication, public or private.
"Dependent adult abuse"
means any of the
				  following as a result of the willful misconduct or gross negligence or reckless
				  act or omission of a caretaker, taking into account the totality of the
				  circumstances: physical injury, unreasonable confinement, unreasonable
				  punishment, assault, sexual offense, sexual exploitation, exploitation,
				  neglect, or personal degradation.
"Gross negligence"
means an act or omission
				  that signifies more than ordinary inadvertence or inattention, but less than
				  conscious indifference to consequences; and, in other words, means an extreme
				  departure from the ordinary standard of care.
"Immediately,"
for purposes of mandatory
				  reporters' reporting of suspected dependent adult abuse, means within 24
				  hours.
"Inspector"
means a surveyor, monitor or
				  investigator with the department or any department designee.
"Misappropriates"
means taking unfair
				  advantage of or wrongfully or dishonestly exercising control over
				  property.
"Physical injury"
means a physical injury,
				  or injury which is at a variance with the history given of the injury, which
				  involves a breach of skill or care or learning ordinarily exercised by a
				  caretaker in similar circumstances. "Physical injury" includes damage to any
				  bodily tissue to the extent that the tissue must undergo a healing process in
				  order to be restored to a sound and healthy condition, damage to any bodily
				  tissue to the extent that the tissue cannot be restored to a sound and healthy
				  condition, or damage to any bodily tissue which results in the death of the
				  person who has sustained the damage.
"Registry"
means the central registry for
				  dependent adult abuse information established in Iowa Code section
				  235B.5.
"Report"
means a verbal or written
				  statement, made to the department, which alleges that dependent adult abuse has
				  occurred.
"Resident"
means a resident of a health care
				  facility as defined in Iowa Code chapter 135C, a patient in a hospital as
				  defined in Iowa Code chapter 135B, a tenant of an assisted living program as
				  defined in Iowa Code chapter 231C, a tenant in an elder group home as defined
				  in Iowa Code chapter 231B, or a participant in an adult day services program as
				  defined in Iowa Code chapter 231D.
"Sexual exploitation"
means any consensual
				  or nonconsensual sexual conduct with a dependent adult by a caretaker whether
				  within a facility or program or at a location outside of a facility or program.
				  "Sexual exploitation" includes but is not limited to:
1. Kissing;
2. Touching of the clothed or unclothed
				breast, groin, buttock, anus, pubes, or genitals;
3. A sex act as defined in Iowa Code section
				702.17;
4. The transmission,
				display or taking of electronic images of the unclothed breast, groin, buttock,
				anus, pubes, or genitals of a dependent adult by a caretaker for a purpose not
				related to treatment, care, monitoring, assessment or diagnosis or as part of
				an ongoing investigation.
"Sexual exploitation" does not include touching which is part
				  of a necessary examination, treatment, or care by a caretaker acting within the
				  scope of the practice or employment of the caretaker; the exchange of a brief
				  touch or hug between the dependent adult and a caretaker for the purpose of
				  reassurance, comfort, or casual friendship; or touching between spouses or
				  domestic partners in an intimate relationship.
"Sexual offense"
means the commission of a
				  sexual offense under Iowa Code chapter 709 or Iowa Code section
				  726.2 with or against a
				  dependent adult.
"Staff member"
means an individual who
				  provides direct or indirect treatment or services to residents in a facility or
				  program. Specifically included in the definition of "staff member" is an
				  employee, health care employment agency worker, or other independent contractor
				  who otherwise meets the definition. Direct treatment or services include those
				  provided through person-to-person contact. Indirect treatment or services
				  include those provided without person-to-person contact such as those provided
				  by administration, dietary, laundry, and maintenance. Specifically excluded
				  from the definition of "staff member" are individuals such as part-time
				  volunteers, building contractors, repair workers or others who are in a
				  facility or program for a very limited purpose, are not in the facility or
				  program on a regular basis, or do not provide any treatment or services to the
				  residents of the facility or program.
"Unreasonable confinement"
means confinement
				  that includes but is not limited to the use of restraints, either physical or
				  chemical, for the convenience of staff. "Unreasonable confinement" does not
				  include the use of confinement and restraints if the methods are employed in
				  conformance with state and federal standards governing confinement and
				  restraint or as authorized by a physician or physician extender.
"Unreasonable punishment"
means a willful
				  act or statement intended by the caretaker to punish, agitate, confuse,
				  frighten, or cause emotional distress to the dependent adult. Such willful act
				  or statement includes but is not limited to intimidating behavior, threats,
				  harassment, deceptive acts, or false or misleading statements.
"Willful misconduct"
means an intentional
				  act of unreasonable character committed with disregard for a known or obvious
				  risk that is so great as to make it highly probable that harm will
				  follow.