Iowa Administrative Code
Agency 481 - Inspections and Appeals Department
Inspections Division
Chapter 62 - Residential Care Facilities for Persons With Mental Illness (RCFs/PMI)
Rule 481-62.10 - General Admission Policies

1. No resident shall be admitted or retained who is in need of greater services than the facility can provide. (II, III)

2. Residents shall be admitted only on a written order signed by a physician certifying that the individual requires no more than personal care and supervision and does not require nursing care. (II, III)

3. A preplacement visit shall be completed prior to admission, except in case of an emergency admission or readmission, to familiarize the applicant with the facility and services offered. The policies and procedures may allow for waiving the requirement at the request of a person seeking admission when the completion of the visit would create a hardship for the person seeking admission. If the distance to be traveled makes it impossible to complete the visit in an eight-hour day, this may be considered to create a hardship. (Ill)

4. Prior to admission of an applicant, the facility shall obtain sufficient information to determine if its program is appropriate and adequate to meet the person's needs. (Ill)

5. Admission criteria shall include but not be limited to age, sex, diagnosis, from the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, substance abuse, dual diagnosis and criteria that are consistent with the resume of care. (Ill)

6. Each facility shall maintain a waiting list with selection priorities identified. (Ill)

7. No RCF/PMI may admit more residents than the number of beds for which it is licensed. (II, III)

8. There shall be a written, organized orientation program for all residents which shall be planned and implemented to resolve or reduce personal, family, business, and emotional problems that may interfere with the health care, recovery, and rehabilitation of the individual and which shall be available for review by the department. (Ill)

9. Infants and children under the age of 18 shall not be admitted to an RCF/PMI for adults unless given prior written approval by the department. A distinct part of an RCF/PMI, segregated from the adult section, may be established based on a resume of care submitted by the licensee or applicant which is commensurate with the needs of the residents of the health care facility and has received the department's review and approval. (Ill)

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 135C.3 and 135C.23.