R495-876-9. Providers' Duty to Help DHS Protect Clients

(1) Duty to Protect Clients' Health and Safety. If the Provider becomes aware that a client has been subjected to any abuse, neglect, exploitation or maltreatment, the Provider's first duty is to protect the client's health and safety.

(2) Duty to Report Problems and Cooperate with Investigations. Providers shall document and report any abuse, neglect, exploitation or maltreatment and exploitation as outlined in this Code of Conduct, and they shall cooperate fully in any investigation conducted by DHS, law enforcement or other regulatory or monitoring agencies.

(a) Except as provided in subsection(b) below, Providers shall immediately report abuse, neglect, exploitation or maltreatment by contacting the local Regional Office of the appropriate DHS Division or Office. During weekends and on holidays, Providers shall make such reports to the on-call worker of that Regional Office.

(i) Providers shall report any abuse or neglect of disabled or elder adults to the Adult Protective Services intake office of the Division of Aging and Adult Services.

(ii) The Provider shall make all reports and documentation about abuse, neglect, exploitation, and maltreatment available to appropriate DHS personnel and law enforcement upon request.

(b) Providers shall document any client injury (explained or unexplained) that occurs on the Providers' premises or while the client is under the Provider's care and supervision, and the Provider shall report any such injury to supervisory personnel immediately. Providers shall cooperate fully in any investigation conducted by DHS, law enforcement or other regulatory or monitoring agencies. If the client's injury is extremely minimal, the Provider has 12 hours to report the injury. The term "extremely minimal" refers to injuries that obviously do not require medical attention (beyond washing a minor wound and applying a band-aid, for example) and which cannot reasonably be expected to benefit from advice or consultation from the supervisory personnel or medical practitioners.

(i) Example: If a foster child falls off a swing and skins her knee slightly, the foster parent shall document the injury and report to the foster care worker within 12 hours.

(ii) Example: If a foster child falls off a swing and sprains or twists her ankle, the foster parent shall document the injury and report it immediately to supervisory personnel because the supervisor may want the child's ankle X-rayed or examined by a physician.

(3) Duty to Report Fatalities and Cooperate in Investigations and Fatality Reviews. If a DHS client dies while receiving services from the Provider, the Provider shall notify the supervising DHS Division or Office immediately and shall cooperate with any investigation into the client's death. In addition, some Providers are subject to the Department of Human Services' Fatality Review Policy. (See the "Eligibility" section of DHS Policy No. 05-02 for a description of the entities subject to the fatality review requirements. A copy of the policy is available at the DHS web site at: http://www.hspolicy.utah.gov) If the Provider is subject to the Fatality Review Policy, it shall comply with that policy (including all reporting requirements) and the Provider shall cooperate fully with any fatality reviews and investigations concerning a client death.

(4) Duty to Display DHS Poster. The Provider shall prominently display in each facility a DHS poster that notifies employees of their responsibilities to report violations of this Provider Code of Conduct, and that gives phone numbers for the Regional Office or Intake Office of the relevant DHS Division(s). Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Provider provides its services in a private home and if the Provider has fewer than three employees or volunteers, the Provider shall maintain this information in a readily-accessible place but it need not actually display the DHS poster. DHS shall annually provide the Provider with a copy of the current DHS poster or it shall make the poster available on the DHS web site: http://www.hspolicy.utah.gov/pdf/poster_provider_code_of_conduct.pdf.