Aging Waiver Policy & Procedure Manual Revised: 5.17.13 145p BP
Effective 5.17.13
POLICY #7-A / REGULATORY REFERENCES:
OLTL/HCBS
Pa Code 52-A.17 (b-f)
OLTL Bulletin October 14, 2011
Title:
Critical Incident Management / Proposed X Final
PURPOSE:
This document outlines the Agency’s internal procedure for reporting “critical incidents.”
Staffperson(s) Responsible for Monitoring Policy Compliance: Service Coordinators, Supervisors, Director
Participant Autonomy – In order to protect a participant’s autonomy and possible safety from an alleged perpetrator, participant model reports of alleged incidents should only be made with the consent of the participant. Participants under any model of service have the right to report incidents at any time. However, participants are not compelled to report and no adverse consequences from OLTL will result from a participant’s decision not to report. Participants shall not be terminated or threatened with the loss of services because they file complaints or incidents of any kind
PROCESS/PROCEDURE:
1. Any event that occurs that could be considered an incident or an alleged incident should be conveyed to the corresponding Service Coordinator.
2. The Service Coordinator will gather sufficient information to relay the details of the event in an e-mail to his/her Supervisor. Supervisor will follow-up with service coordinator.
3. The Service coordinator will determine if the event meets the definition of abuse, neglect, or exploitation as defined in the OLTL bulletin on critical incident management issued 10/14/11.
4. If the incident meets the criteria for PS, the service coordinator will complete a Report of Need and refer to PS. Once referred to PS, the PS worker takes over the case. Upon protective services initiating an investigation; the service coordinator will only provide information upon request as a collateral contact and be involved in the case to the extent that services may be needed to reduce risk of abuse neglect, exploitation or abandonment to the older adult.
5. If the event does not meet the criteria for PS, the service coordinator will document a description of the incident in the” Incident“ action in SAMs within 2 business days of the discovery of the incident . Documentation in the Incident action will start with the date and time of the incident (if known).
6. If the service coordinator is the first person to be made aware of/discover the incident, he/she shall notify the participant, within 24 hours that a critical incident report has been filed. This notice will be in a cognitively and linguistically accessible format.
7. The Waiver supervisor will notify OLTL of the incident, via Email, within 48 hours of discovery of incident. When the incident requires additional follow-up beyond what has been documented in the initial report, the supervisor will provide all additional information within 30 business days (Initial report will be updated).
8. The Service Coordinator will document the start of investigative actions in a SAMs “Incident” action within 5 business days of discovery of the incident and continue documenting all correspondence until the resolution of the incident.
9. Any resolution(s) and preventative measures/recommendation s will be documented in Incident action no later than 30 calendar days after Start Date of incident.
10. Within 48 hours of the conclusion of the investigation, the service coordinator will inform the participant of the resolution and measures implemented to prevent recurrence of the incident. This notice will be in a cognitively and linguistically accessible format.
11. Notice to participant (upon discovery and conclusion) will be documented in the action.
12. The service coordinators will follow-up on any cases involving employees (Agency and Consumer directed). He/she shall address any corrective actions that have taken place. Service orders may be suspended pending outcome of the corrective actions.
13. Waiver supervisor will maintain copies of all incident reports in a separate file.
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