Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 18, September 24, 2024
A.
Duty to report:
(1) All
community-based providers shall immediately report alleged crimes to law
enforcement or call for emergency medical services as appropriate to ensure the
safety of consumers.
(2) All
community-based service providers, their employees and volunteers shall
immediately call the division of health improvement (DHI) hotline at
1-800445-6242 to report abuse, neglect, exploitation, suspicious injuries or
any death and also to report an environmentally hazardous condition which
creates an immediate threat to health or safety.
B.
Reporter requirement. All
community-based service providers shall ensure that the employee or volunteer
with knowledge of the alleged abuse, neglect, exploitation, suspicious injury,
or death calls the division's hotline to report the incident.
C.
Initial reports, form of report,
immediate action and safety planning, evidence preservation, required initial
notifications:
(1)
Abuse,
neglect, and exploitation, suspicious injury or death reporting: Any
person may report an allegation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, suspicious
injury or a death by calling the division's toll-free hotline number
1-800-445-6242. Any consumer, family member, or legal guardian may call the
division's hotline to report an allegation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation,
suspicious injury or death directly, or may report through the community-based
service provider who, in addition to calling the hotline, must also utilize the
division's abuse, neglect, and exploitation or report of death form. The abuse,
neglect, and exploitation or report of death form and instructions for its
completion and filing are available at the division's website or may be
obtained from the authority by calling the division's toll free hotline number,
1-800-445-6242.
(2)
Use of
abuse, neglect, and exploitation or report of death form and notification by
community-based service providers: In addition to calling the division's
hotline as required in Paragraph (2) of Subsection A of 8.370.10.8 NMAC, the
community-based service provider shall also report the incident of abuse,
neglect, exploitation, suspicious injury, or death utilizing the division's
abuse, neglect, and exploitation or report of death form consistent with the
requirements of the division's abuse, neglect, and exploitation reporting
guide. The community-based service provider shall ensure all abuse, neglect,
exploitation or death reports describing the alleged incident are completed on
the division's abuse, neglect, and exploitation or report of death form and
received by the division within 24 hours of the verbal report. If the provider
has internet access, the report form shall be submitted via the division's
website; otherwise it may be submitted via fax to 1-800-584-6057. The
community-based service provider shall ensure that the reporter with the most
direct knowledge of the incident participates in the preparation of the report
form.
(3)
Limited provider
investigation: No investigation beyond that necessary in order to be
able to report the abuse, neglect, or exploitation and ensure the safety of
consumers is permitted until the division has completed its
investigation.
(4)
Immediate
action and safety planning: Upon discovery of any alleged incident of
abuse, neglect, or exploitation, the community-based service provider shall:
(a) develop and implement an immediate action
and safety plan for any potentially endangered consumers, if
applicable;
(b) be immediately
prepared to report that immediate action and safety plan verbally, and revise
the plan according to the division's direction, if necessary; and
(c) provide the accepted immediate action and
safety plan in writing on the immediate action and safety plan form within 24
hours of the verbal report. If the provider has internet access, the report
form shall be submitted via the division's website; otherwise it may be
submitted by faxing it to the division at 1-800-584-6057.
(5)
Evidence preservation: The
community-based service provider shall preserve evidence related to an alleged
incident of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, including records, and do nothing
to disturb the evidence. If physical evidence must be removed or affected, the
provider shall take photographs or do whatever is reasonable to document the
location and type of evidence found which appears related to the
incident.
(6)
Legal guardian
or parental notification: The responsible community-based service
provider shall ensure that the consumer's legal guardian or parent is notified
of the alleged incident of abuse, neglect and exploitation within 24 hours of
notice of the alleged incident unless the parent or legal guardian is suspected
of committing the alleged abuse, neglect, or exploitation, in which case the
community-based service provider shall leave notification to the division's
investigative representative.
(7)
Case manager or consultant notification by community-based service
providers: The responsible community-based service provider shall notify
the consumer's case manager or consultant within 24 hours that an alleged
incident involving abuse, neglect, or exploitation has been reported to the
division. Names of other consumers and employees may be redacted before any
documentation is forwarded to a case manager or consultant.
(8)
Non-responsible reporter:
Providers who are reporting an incident in which they are not the responsible
community-based service provider shall notify the responsible community-based
service provider within 24 hours of an incident or allegation of an incident of
abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
D.
Incident policies: All
community-based service providers shall maintain policies and procedures which
describe the community-based service provider's immediate response, including
development of an immediate action and safety plan acceptable to the division
where appropriate, to all allegations of incidents involving abuse, neglect, or
exploitation, suspicious injury as required in Paragraph (2) of Subsection A of
8.370.10.8 NMAC.
E.
Retaliation: Any person, including but not limited to an employee,
volunteer, consultant, contractor, consumer, or their family members, guardian,
and another provider who, without false intent, reports an incident or makes an
allegation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation shall be free of any form of
retaliation such as termination of contract or employment, nor may they be
disciplined or discriminated against in any manner including, but not limited
to, demotion, shift change, pay cuts, reduction in hours, room change, service
reduction, or in any other manner without justifiable reason.
F.
Quality assurance/ quality
improvement program for community-based service providers: The
community-based service provider shall establish and implement a quality
improvement program for reviewing alleged complaints and incidents of abuse,
neglect, or exploitation against them as a provider after the division's
investigation is complete. The incident management program shall include
written documentation of corrective actions taken. The community-based service
provider shall take all reasonable steps to prevent further incidents. The
community-based service provider shall provide the following internal
monitoring and facilitating quality improvement program:
(1) community-based service providers shall
have current abuse, neglect, and exploitation management policy and procedures
in place that comply with the authority's requirements;
(2) community-based service providers
providing intellectual and developmental disabilities services must have a
designated incident management coordinator in place; and
(3) community-based service providers
providing intellectual and developmental disabilities services must have an
incident management committee to identify any deficiencies, trends, patterns,
or concerns as well as opportunities for quality improvement, address internal
and external incident reports for the purpose of examining internal root
causes, and to take action on identified issues.
