Serious Events/Incidents and Abuse/Neglect/Exploitation

Serious Events/Incidents and Abuse/Neglect/Exploitation A. All Department of Mental Health (DMH) providers, including support coordinators and targeted case managers, must receive training at least annually regarding Mississippi’s Vulnerable Persons Act and the following: 1. Education as to what constitutes possible abuse/neglect/exploitation, 2. Abuse/neglect/exploitation reporting requirements and procedures, and 3. Reporting of serious events/incidents to DMH as outlined in the DMH Operational Standards. B. Providers must provide the person/legal guardian with the provider’s procedures for protecting persons from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and any other form of potential abuse. 1. The procedures must be provided upon admission and at least annually thereafter. 2. The procedures must be given orally and in writing. 3. Documentation must include the person/legal guardian’s signature indicating the rights have been explained in a way that is understandable to them. 4. The person/legal guardian must be given instructions for reporting suspected violation to the DMH, Office of Consumer Support (OCS) or Disability Rights Mississippi. 5. The DMH toll free Helpline must be posted in a prominent place throughout each program site and provided to the person/legal representative. C. All providers must have a written policy for documenting and reporting all serious events/incidents. Documentation regarding serious events/incidents must include: 1. A written description of events and actions, 2. All written reports, including outcomes, and 3. A record of telephone calls and written reports to DMH. D. Serious events/incidents involving program services or program staff on program property or at a program-sponsored event must be reported to DMH, the agency director, and the parent/guardian/legal representative/significant person as identified by the person receiving services. E. DMH must submit a summary of serious incidents/events to the Division of Medicaid with each quarterly report. F. Serious events/incidents involving beneficiaries that must be reported to the DMH and other appropriate authorities within twenty-four (24) hours or the next business day, by telephone or written report include, but are not limited to, the following: 1. Suicide attempts on program property or at a program-sponsored event. 2. Suspected abuse/neglect/exploitation, which must also be reported to other authorities in accordance with State law. 3. Unexplained absence from a residential program of twelve (12) hours duration. 4. Absence of any length of time from an adult day center providing services to persons with Alzheimer’s disease and/or other dementia. 5. Emergency hospitalization or emergency room treatment of a person receiving 1915(i) services. 6. Accidents which require hospitalization and may be related to abuse or neglect, or in which the cause is unknown or unusual. 7. Disasters including fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earth quakes and disease outbreaks. 8. Use of seclusion or restraint, either mechanical or chemical. Providers are prohibited from the use of: a) Mechanical restraints, defined by the Division of Medicaid as the use of a mechanical device, material, or equipment attached or adjacent to the person’s body that he or she cannot easily remove that restricts freedom of movement or normal access to one’s body unless being used for adaptive support, b) Seclusion, c) Time-out, and d) Chemical restraints, defined by the Division of Medicaid as medication used to control behavior or to restrict the person’s freedom of movement and is not standard treatment of the person’s medical or psychiatric condition, G. Death of a person on program property, at a program sponsored event or during an unexplained absence from a residential program site must be reported to the DMH within eight (8) hours of the death. H. If a provider has any question whether or not a situation/incident should be reported, the provider must contact DMH. I. Reporting guidelines are determined by the setting in which the suspected abuse/neglect/exploitation occurred. 1. Suspected abuse/neglect/exploitation that occurs in a home setting must be reported to the Vulnerable Adults Unit (VAU) at the Attorney General’s Office and the Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) at the Mississippi Department of Human Services (DHS). 2. Complaints of abuse/neglect/exploitation of persons in health care facilities must be reported to the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) and the Office of the State Attorney General (AG).. 3. Suspected abuse/neglect/exploitation that occurs in any Day Support services facility, which Division of Medicaid defines as a community-based group program for adults designed to meet the needs of adults with impairments through individual PSS, which are structured, comprehensive, planned, nonresidential programs providing a variety of health, social and related support services in a protective setting, enabling beneficiaries to live in the community must be reported to DMH if the facility is certified by the DMH. 4. If the alleged perpetrator carries a professional license or certificate, a report must be made to the entity which governs their license or certificate. 5. Disease outbreaks at a provider site must be reported to Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH).