Iowa Administrative Code
Agency 481 - Inspections and Appeals Department
Inspections Division
Chapter 41 - Psychiatric Medical Institutions for Children (PMIC)
Rule 481-41.17 - Additional Provisions Concerning Physical Restraint
Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 6, September 18, 2024
If a PMIC uses a physical restraint, the following provisions shall apply:
(1) No employee shall use any prone restraints. For the purposes of this rule, "prone restraints" means those in which an individual is held face down on the floor Employees who find themselves involved in the use of a prone restraint as the result of responding to an emergency must take immediate steps to end the prone restraint.
(2) No employee shall use any restraint that obstructs the airway of any resident.
(3) If an employee physically restrains a resident who uses sign language or an augmentative mode of communication as the resident's primary mode of communication, the resident shall be permitted to have the resident's hands free of restraint for brief periods, unless an employee determines that such freedom appears likely to result in harm to self or others.
This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 135H.4 and 135H.5.