New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 14 - DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HYGIENE › Chapter XIII - Office of Mental Health › Part 526 - QUALITY OF CARE AND TREATMENT › Section 526.4 - Restraint and seclusion

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a)
Definitions.
For purposes of this section, the following terms are
				  defined:
(1)
Behavior
				management plan
means a document that identifies a patient's
				individual preferences and behaviors related to behavioral management
				interventions, (
e.g
., an individual calming plan, an
				individual crisis prevention plan, or a personal safety plan).
(2)
Commissioner
means the
				Commissioner of Mental Health.
(3)
Drug used as a restraint
means a drug or medication when it is
				used as a restriction to manage the patient's behavior or restrict the
				patient's freedom of movement and is not a standard treatment or dosage for a
				patient's medical or psychiatric condition, or as otherwise defined in Federal
				regulations of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
(4)
Emergency
means a
				situation in which a patient's behavior creates an imminent threat of serious
				injury to the patient or another person, where there is the present ability to
				effect such harm. For purposes of this section, a threat to property shall not
				be considered an emergency.
(5)
Facility
means a hospital as defined in section 1.03  of the Mental Hygiene Law, and shall
				include the hospital sub-class of residential treatment facilities for children
				and youth, as defined in such section.
(6)
Manual restraint
means
				the use of a manual or physical method to restrict a person's freedom of
				movement or normal access to his or her body. The term
manual
				restraint
means and includes the term
physical
				restraint
.
(7)
Mechanical restraint
means an apparatus which restricts a
				patient's movement of the head, limbs, or body, and which the patient is unable
				to remove, provided, however, this term may also apply to an apparatus not
				normally used for this purpose, such as a bed rail or bed sheet, if the patient
				is not able to release the mechanism.
(8)
Mechanical support
means
				a device intended to keep the person in a safe or comfortable position, which
				the patient can remove at will, or to provide the stability necessary for
				therapeutic and preventive measures such as immobilization of fractures,
				administration of intravenous solutions or other medically necessary
				procedures.
(9)
Nurse
means a registered professional nurse employed by, or
				rendering services in, a facility certified by the Office of Mental Health, who
				is currently licensed pursuant to article 139 of the Education Law.
(10)
Office
means the New
				York State Office of Mental Health.
(11)
Physical escort
means
				the use of a light grasp to escort a patient to a desired location, which the
				patient can easily remove or avoid.
(12)
Restraint
means any
				manual method, mechanical device, or pharmacologic measure which immobilizes or
				reduces the ability of an individual to freely move his or her arms, legs,
				body, or head. For purposes of this Part,
restraint
means and
				includes manual restraint, drug used as a restraint, and mechanical
				restraint.
(13)
Seclusion
means the involuntary confinement of a patient in a
				room or area where the patient is prevented from leaving (or where the patient
				reasonably believes that he or she will be prevented from leaving), with no
				ability to meaningfully interact with other patients or staff, provided,
				however, it shall not mean confinement on a locked unit or ward where a patient
				is with others.
(14)
Time
				out
means a voluntary procedure used to assist a patient in regaining
				emotional control by providing access to a quiet area or unlocked quiet room
				away from his/her immediate environment.