Current through Rules and Regulations filed through March 20, 2024
1. The CSU and any associated CSC and/or Temp Obs shall have procedures regarding authorized entry and/or exit between and from the facility services.
2. The CSU and any associated CSC and/or Temp Obs shall have policies and procedures to protect and respect individuals' rights and privacy while conducting searches.
3. The CSU and any associated CSC and/or Temp Obs shall have control of potentially injurious items, clearly defined in policy to include, but may not be limited to:
a. Prohibition of flammables, toxins, ropes, wire clothes hangers, sharp-pointed scissors, luggage straps, belts, knives, shoestrings, or other potentially injurious items;
b. Management of housekeeping supplies and chemicals, including procedures to avoid access by individuals during use or storage. Whenever practical, supplies and chemicals shall be non-toxic or non-caustic;
c. Safeguarding use and disposal of nursing and medical supplies including drugs, needles and other "sharps" and breakable items.
4. Except as otherwise provided byassociated CSC and/or Temp Obs. The facility shall post notices regarding the prohibition of w law, weapons shall be prohibited at the CSU and any weapons at all entrances and shall have written protocols addressing the same.
5. The CSU and any associated CSC and/or Temp Obs shall develop and implement policies and practices, consistent with Departmental policy, that describe interventions to prevent crises and minimize incidents when they do occur, that are organized in a least to most restrictive sequence. The written policies and procedures shall:
a. Emphasize positive approaches to interventions;
b. Protect the health and safety of the individual served at all times;
c. Specify the methods for documenting the use of the interventions; the admission assessment shall contain an assessment of past trauma or abuse, how the individual served would prefer to be approached should he or she become dangerous to him or herself or to others and the findings from this initial assessment shall guide the process for determining interventions.
6. The CSU shall develop and implement internal policies and practices for use of seclusion or restraint that are consistent with federal and state laws, rules, regulations and DBHDD policy:
a. Seclusion or restraint, as defined in these regulations, shall be used only as an emergency safety intervention of last resort to ensure the physical safety of the individual and others, and shall be used only after less restrictive interventions have been determined to be ineffective;
b. Seclusion or restraint shall not be used as punishment or for the convenience of staff
c. Seclusion and restraint shall not be implemented simultaneously;
d. All individuals placed in restraints shall be afforded full privacy away from other individuals receiving services;
e. Chemical restraint as defined by the Code of Federal Regulations shall not be utilized under any circumstances;
f. Staff and individuals shall be debriefed immediately following an episode of seclusion or restraint, identifying the circumstances leading up to the seclusion or restraint;
g. The individual's IRP shall be updated following the debriefing of what led to a seclusion or restraint episode, including changes that could be made to prevent the situation from reoccurring or better support the individual if future issues do occur.
7. The CSU and any associated CSC and/or Temp Obs shall develop policies and procedures for implementing suicide prevention interventions addressing: screening, crisis safety plan, assessments, staffing, levels of observation and documentation in accordance with DBHDD policy.
a. Policies and procedures shall require constant visual observations of persons clinically determined to be actively suicidal;
b. A person assessed to be potentially suicidal shall be on a higher level of supervision;
c. Modifications or removal of suicide prevention interventions shall require clinical justification determined by an assessment and shall be specified by the attending physician and documented in the clinical record;
d. A registered professional nurse or other licensed/certified clinician may initiate suicide prevention interventions prior to obtaining a physician/psychiatrist's order, but in all instances must obtain an order within one (1) hour of initiating the intervention;
e. Staff shall be debriefed immediately following a suicide attempt, identifying the circumstances leading up to the suicide attempt;
f. The individual's IRP shall be updated following the debriefing of what led to the suicide attempt, including changes that could be made to prevent the situation from reoccurring or to better support the individual if future issues do occur.
8. Other high-risk behaviors such as assaultive behavior shall be addressed in the CSU policies and procedures.
O.C.G.A. Secs. 16-11-127, 37-1-29, 37-3-162, 37-3-165, 37-7-162, 37-7-165.
