Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 212 - Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals › Chapter 10 - Licensing and General Administration › Subchapter 00 - N/A › Part 1 - Rules and Regulations for the Licensing of Organizations and Facilities Licensed by the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals › Section 212-RICR-10-00-1.20 - Abuse, Neglect, Mistreatment, and Other Human Rights Violations

Current through June 14, 2024
1.20.1
Duty to Report
A. Any Organization shall be responsible to
				 make a telephone report to the Department's Office of Quality Assurance (OQA)
				 within twenty-four (24) hours after an observation of an overt act, after an
				 observation of physical harm to an individual, after receipt of an individual's
				 oral, written, or gestured disclosure, any of which make a reasonable person
				 believe that the individual was subjected to a violation of his or her civil
				 rights, including but not limited to financial exploitation, mistreatment,
				 neglect, and/or verbal, mental, sexual, and physical abuse, injury of unknown
				 source, death that may have been caused by abuse or neglect, financial
				 exploitation, and/or misappropriation of client property by anyone,
B. Any Organization that has reasonable cause
				 to believe that an assault or a battery has been committed upon an individual
				 shall make an immediate report to the Department's OQA, and such report shall
				 include the identity of parties and witnesses, and details of the incident. The
				 Department shall cause the report to be investigated immediately. The
				 Department shall, and the Organization may if the law otherwise allows, notify
				 the Mental Health Advocate and appropriate law enforcement agencies of the
				 Department investigation of such assault or battery.
C. Any health care professional who is
				 licensed in Rhode Island, and any police officer, emergency medical technician,
				 firefighter, or any person (within the scope of their employment at a facility
				 or in their professional capacity) who has knowledge, or reasonable cause to
				 believe, that a patient or resident in a facility has been abused, mistreated,
				 or neglected shall make, within twenty-four (24) hours or by the end of the
				 next business day, a telephone report to the Department's OQA for those
				 incidents involving community residences for people with developmental
				 disabilities; and a telephone report to the Department of Health of the same
				 such knowledge or reasonable cause to believe if the patient is a on a
				 long-term unit in Eleanor Slater Hospital.
D. Any caregiver or person within the scope
				 of their employment at an Organization or in their professional capacity who
				 has knowledge of or reasonable cause to believe that an individual in a program
				 has been abused, mistreated or neglected shall file within twenty-four (24)
				 hours or by the end of the next business day, a written report.
E. If an individual in a Department-operated
				 community residence dies, the managing officer shall furnish to the Department
				 Director within twenty-four (24) hours after the death the date and cause of
				 death, and other facts as the Department requires. In case of an accident,
				 injury, or death of an individual, the managing officer shall complete a
				 written report, and also telephone the Department's OQA, within twenty-four
				 (24) hours of the individual's accident, injury or death. The writer of the
				 report shall include the circumstances of the injury or death as fully as
				 possible, including but not limited to the information listed in §1.20.1(A) 
				 of this Part. Any such record shall be accessible only to the Director of the
				 Department or any such employee designated by the Director as having a need to
				 know such information, unless an applicable law or regulation otherwise
				 permits.
F. For every report
				 required by §§1.20.1(A), (B),
				 (C),  or (D) of this Part the information in
				 such telephone or written report shall include at least the following:
1. The caregiver or employee's name,
				 Organization address, Organization telephone number, direct extension if
				 applicable, and occupation,
2. The
				 name and address of the individual who is believed to be the victim of the
				 abuse, mistreatment, or neglect;
3.
				 The details, observations, and beliefs concerning the incident(s);
4. The individual's oral, written or gestured
				 statements regarding the incident(s), to whom they were made, and at what date
				 and time they were made;
5. The
				 date, time, and place of each incident;
6. The name of all individuals believed to
				 have knowledge of the incident(s); and
7. The name of all individuals believed to
				 have been responsible for the incident(s) or could have been responsible for
				 the incident if unknown cause and unknown perpetrator.
G. Such written report that is filled in by
				 the deadline in this section shall be made available to the Office of Quality
				 Assurance upon request, or within five (5) days of the incident(s), whichever
				 occurs earlier.
H. Any deadline in
				 this section to file a written and/or telephone report of an alleged violation
				 of civil rights, or of an alleged act of abuse, neglect, mistreatment or
				 exploitation against an individual, shall not be extended even if a reporter is
				 allowed to inform a "high managerial officer" of the reporter's
				 Organization.
I. At the
				 requested/or with the consent of the individual, the Organization shall
				 immediately inform the legal guardians and/or others of any situation involving
				 abuse, neglect, mistreatment, or human rights violations against the
				 individual. If an individual in a Department-operated community residence dies,
				 the managing officer shall furnish to the Department Director within
				 twenty-four (24) hours after the death the date and cause of death, and other
				 facts as the Department requires. In case of an accident, injury, or death of
				 an individual, the managing officer shall complete a written report, and also
				 telephone the Department's OQA, within twenty-four (24) hours of the
				 individual's accident, injury or death. The writer of the report shall include
				 the circumstances of the injury or death as fully as possible, including but
				 not limited to the information listed in §1.20.1(A) 
				 of this Part. Any such record shall be accessible only to the Director of the
				 Department or any such employee designated by the Director as having a need to
				 know such information, unless an applicable law or regulation otherwise
				 permits.
J. Such written report
				 that is filled in by the deadline in this section shall be made available to
				 the Office of Quality Assurance upon request, or within five (5) days of the
				 incident(s), whichever occurs earlier.