Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Katherine I. Vasquez
WAC 388-111-0001 Definitions.
"Abandonment" means action or inaction by an individual or entity with a duty of care for a vulnerable adult that leaves the vulnerable individual without the means or ability to obtain necessary food, clothing, shelter, or health care.
"Abuse" means the willful action or inaction that inflicts injury, unreasonable confinement, intimidation, or punishment of a vulnerable adult. In instances of abuse of a vulnerable adult who is unable to express or demonstrate physical harm, pain or mental anguish, the abuse is presumed to cause physical harm, pain, or mental anguish. Abuse includes sexual abuse, mental abuse, physical abuse, and exploitation of a vulnerable adult, which have the following meanings:
(1) "Mental abuse" means any willful action or inaction of mental or verbal abuse. Mental abuse includes, but is not limited to, coercion, harassment, inappropriately isolating a resident from family, friends, or regular activity, and verbal assault that includes ridiculing, intimidating, yelling, or swearing.
(2) "Physical abuse" means the willful action of inflicting bodily injury or physical mistreatment. Physical abuse includes, but is not limited to, striking with or without an object, slapping, pinching, choking, kicking, shoving, prodding, or the use of chemical or physical restraints unless the restraint is consistent with certification requirements.
(3) "Sexual abuse" means any form of nonconsensual sexual contact, including, but not limited to unwanted or inappropriate touching, rape, sodomy, sexual coercion, sexually explicit photographing, and sexual harassment. Sexual contact may include interactions that do not involve touching, including but not limited to sending a resident sexually explicit messages, or cuing or encouraging a resident to perform sexual acts. Sexual abuse includes any sexual contact between a staff person and a resident, whether or not it is consensual.
(4) "Exploitation" means an act of forcing, compelling, or exerting undue influence over a resident causing the resident to act in a way that is inconsistent with relevant past behavior, or causing the resident to perform services for the benefit of another.
"Administrative hearing" is a formal hearing proceeding before a state administrative law judge that gives an individual an opportunity to appeal a finding of abandonment, abuse, neglect or financial exploitation of a resident.
"Administrative law judge (ALJ)" means an impartial decision maker who presides over an administrative hearing. ALJs are employed by the office of administrative hearings (OAH), which is a separate state agency. ALJs are not DSHS employees or DSHS representatives.
"Department" means the department of social and health services (DSHS).
"Facility":
(1) Except as defined in subsection (2) of this definition, the term "facility" means an intermediate care facility for ((persons)) individuals with intellectual disabilities (((ICF/ID))) (ICF/IID).
(2) When used in the definition of "mandated reporter", the term "facility" means a residence licensed or required to be licensed under chapter
18.20 RCW,
((boarding homes)) assisted living facilities; chapter
18.51 RCW, nursing homes; chapter
70.128 RCW, adult family homes; chapter
72.36 RCW, soldiers' homes; or chapter
71A.20 RCW, residential habilitation centers; or any other facility licensed by the department.
"Financial exploitation" means the illegal or improper use, control over, or withholding of the property, income, resources, or trust funds of the vulnerable adult by any individual or entity for any individual's or entity's profit or advantage other than the vulnerable adult's profit or advantage. Some examples of financial exploitation are given in RCW
74.34.020(6).
"Individual" means anyone used by the facility to provide services to residents, who is alleged to have abandoned, abused, neglected, misappropriated property of, or financially exploited a resident. "Individual" includes, but is not limited to, employees, contractors and volunteers. "Individual" also includes a person used by the certified nursing facility portion of a residential habilitation center operated under chapter
71A.20 RCW.
"Intermediate care facility for ((persons)) individuals with intellectual disabilities (((ICF/ID))) (ICF/IID)" means an institution certified under chapter 42 C.F.R., Part 483, Subpart I, unless the facility is licensed as a nursing home under chapter
18.51 RCW or as
((a boarding home)) an assisted living facility under chapter
18.20 RCW.
"Mandated reporter" is an employee of the department; law enforcement officer; social worker; professional school personnel; individual provider; an employee of a facility; an operator of a facility; an employee of a social service, welfare, mental health, adult day health, adult day care, home health, home care, or hospice agency; county coroner or medical examiner; Christian Science practitioner; or health care provider subject to chapter
18.130 RCW.
"Neglect" means that an individual or entity with a duty to care for residents has:
(1) By an act or omission, demonstrated a serious disregard of consequences of such magnitude as to constitute a clear and present danger to the resident's health, welfare or safety; or
(2) Through conduct or inaction, or a pattern of conduct or inaction, failed to provide a resident with the goods and services that maintain physical or mental health of a vulnerable adult, or that failed to avoid or prevent physical harm, pain, mental anguish, or mental illness.
"Resident" means an individual residing in a facility or in the certified nursing facility portion of a residential habilitation center operated under chapter
71A.20 RCW.
"Willful" means the deliberate, or nonaccidental, action or inaction by an individual that he or she knew or reasonably should have known could cause a negative outcome, including harm, injury, pain or anguish.
