TARRY HOUSE, INC.

 

Subject:  Incident Reporting Procedure

 

Procedure Number:  H.S. 13

Site: Tarry House and Tarry House Respite

 

Issued By: Executive Director

Effective: May 29, 1996

Approved By: The Board of Trustees

Revised:  3/1/97; 12/14/99; 4/17/00; 9/18/01; 4/25/03; 9/30/03; 6/3/04; 8/8/08; 5/29/09

Reference Policy:  HS 01

Reviewed: 11/29/00; 3/24/98; 12/19/02; 6/3/04; 7/03/05; 7/18/06; 8/8/08; 5/29/09

Standards Reference:

CARF: 1. E. 10

ODMH: 5122-30-16

Approved: May 29, 1996

 

 

I.                   Purpose

 

It is the policy of Tarry House Inc. to insure prompt, accurate investigation and reporting of incidents involving persons served, staff and visitors.

 

II.                Policy

 

All staff is responsible for reporting incidents that occur at the Tarry House Recovery Home, at Respite, or in the community. All staff will ensure that all incident reports are complete and that the Program Manager or the Executive Director is notified as quickly as safely possible.

 

III.             Procedure

 

DEFINITIONS

 

A Minor Incident – is any occurrence, which is not consistent with the routine care of the persons served. Incidents may involve persons served, staff, visitors in Tarry House facilities, on grounds or in the community. A Minor Incident Report shall be completed when a person is considered “Absent without Notice” (AWON).

 

Major Incidents - According to the Ohio Department of Mental Health (5122-30-03); “Major Unusual Incident” means an occurrence likely to cause serious harm which is not consistent with the routine care of a person served or routine operation of the facility.  Incidents may involve persons served, facility staff, or visitors.  Major incidents shall include all deaths, serious bodily injuries, alleged criminal acts, alleged abuse or neglect, any adverse reaction of a person served to a life threatening degree due to an administered drug, medication errors likely to result in serious consequences to a person served, and any life threatening situation.  Also, major unusual incidents include, but are not limited to the following:  alleged assaults to an employee and/or other persons, alleged criminal act, property damage of $300.00 or more, bomb threats, serious disruption of facility essential services, utilities and safety systems, serious suicide attempts or serious self abusive behavior, serious injury such as deep lacerations and fractures; any fire that results in an injury and/or that a fire department responded to and extinguished and/or that caused the evacuation of a building.

 

 

 

 

Suicide or Attempted Suicide – There is no more critical incident than when someone completes or attempts a suicide.  Staff members are expected to utilize the knowledge and experience gained from their initial and ongoing training in first aid, CPR, and crisis prevention and intervention.  There is no perfect way to prevent suicidal behavior, but staff members are encouraged to follow these guidelines when dealing with a potential suicide or a suicide attempt:

 

A.     Remember that what you think is a crisis and what another person thinks is a crisis may be two different things. 

B.     Remember that the ability to manage psychosocial and financial stressors differs from person to person, and most people with a psychiatric diagnosis have difficulty coping.

C.     Take all threats of suicide seriously, especially if the person verbalizes a plan or a particularly accessible and lethal method (e.g., jumping from a bridge) and seek help.  Good communication with your co-workers, supervisor and the individual’s treatment team may be the key to saving someone’s life.

D.     Contact emergency personal if you believe someone has an imminent plan to harm him- or herself.  If possible, stay with the person until help arrives. 

E.      If the person has harmed him- or herself, provide emergency first aid and contact emergency medical personnel.  Once the person is being treated by emergency medical personnel, contact your supervisor to communicate what has happened and receive instructions. 

F.      Following a major incident of this nature, staff and those served will receive counseling as needed by the Executive and/or Clinical Director of Tarry House.  In addition, the incident will be discussed in a staff meeting, with emphasis placed on what (if anything) could be done differently or better in the future.

 

Procedures for Managing Major Unusual Incidents (MUI’s)

 

The Ohio Department of Mental Health’s (ODMH) Incident Report Form DMH-LIC-015 (revised 11/21/2003) must be completed for all major unusual incidents involving persons served, employees, or visitors on Tarry House grounds, in the community and/or incidents that occur during all Tarry House sponsored community activities. 

 

1.                  The employee’s supervisor should be notified of all MUI’s immediately.

 

2.                  The Incident Report is to be made in original only, and forwarded to employee’s immediate supervisor. 

 

3.                  The supervisor will ensure that the Major Unusual Incident Report Form is completed fully and accurately.  The supervisor will make certain the MUI is faxed to the Summit County Alcohol Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board (ADM Board) , the affiliating agency providing services, the person’s guardian/custodian if applicable and ODMH within 24 hours after the incident occurs or is discovered. If the incident occurs on the weekend, notification, via fax, must be made the next business day.  The Executive Director should be informed of all MUI’s the next business day, unless the supervisor deems it necessary that the Executive Director be notified immediately. 

 

4.                  For MUI’s that occur in the Tarry House Recovery Home, after the MUI is faxed, the supervisor is to complete the Tarry House, Inc. Incident Report Follow-up Form (attached to this policy).  For the Tarry House Treatment Home, the original MUI with the attached follow-up form will be forwarded to the Recovery Specialist for review and sign off.  The Recovery Specialist will forward to the Clinical Director who will review sign off and forward to the Executive Director who will review, sign off and make sure it is filed appropriately. 

 

5.                  At the Respite Home, the Program Manager (or designee) first makes certain the MUI is faxed to the entities indicated above. He or she then completes the MUI follow-up form, photocopies it and forwards the original MUI and the original follow-up form, to the Executive Director via interoffice mail. The envelope should be sealed and clearly marked “confidential.”

 

Procedures for Managing Minor Unusual Incidents

 

1.                  All Minor Incident Reports must be completed before the end of the shift the incident occurred.  This original report form is to be forwarded to the employee’s immediate supervisor. 

 

2.                  After the Minor Incident Report is reviewed by the Program Manager, the Program Manager is to complete the Tarry House, Inc. Incident Report Follow-up Form (attached to this policy).  For the Tarry House Recovery Home, the original Minor Incident Report with the attached follow-up form will be forwarded to the Recovery Specialist for review and sign off.  The Recovery Specialist will forward to the Clinical Director who will review, sign off and forward to the Executive Director who will review, sign off and make sure it is filed appropriately.

 

3.                  At the Respite Home, the Program Manager (or designee) ensures the Minor Incident Report is completed fully and appropriately and then completes the follow-up form. Both the Minor Incident Report and the follow-up form should be photocopied, and the originals should be forwarded to the Executive Director via interoffice mail. The envelope should be sealed and clearly marked “confidential.”

 

 

 

Tracking and Analysis of Incidents

 

After the Executive Director reviews all MUI’s and Minor Incident Reports, the reports will be forwarded to the agency secretary/receptionist who will enter the appropriate statistics into a data collection spread sheet to assist in analysis.  The secretary will maintain files for all incidents, major and minor.  Incidents reports will be maintained in a secure area.

 

A thorough analysis of all incidents will be performed at the monthly administrative staff meeting. Potential causes and trends will be identified. Action plans will be developed to address the identified causes and trends. Action plans will be evaluated on a weekly basis to determine their effectiveness at reducing risks and changes made where appropriate.  Additional action to be taken (if necessary), incident trending and recommendations will be discussed.

 

Debriefings are held as deemed appropriate by the Clinical Director or Executive Director following each emergency to provide support to personnel and the persons served. If necessary, Tarry House, Inc. may have a crisis response team of trained clinicians respond to staff and client needs following an emergency situation. All debriefings shall be documented and kept with administrative staff meeting minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

________________________________________                                                    _____________________

Executive Director                                                                                                        Date

 

 

Tarry House, Inc.

Incident Report Follow-up Form

(Internal QI Form, do not fax to ODMH)

 

Name of Resident involved: __________________________________Resident # ________

 

Date of the Incident: _________________                                       Time of the Incident: ________________

 

Site Supervisor/Program Manager follow-up Information: _______________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Site Supervisor/Program Manager Signature: _____________________________________________________

 

Date: ________________________

 

Recovery Specialist’s Comments (as needed): ___________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Recovery Specialist’s Signature: _______________________________________________________________

 

Date: ________________________

 

Clinical Director’s Comments (as needed): _____________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Clinical Director’s Signature: ________________________________________

 

Date: ________________________

 

 

Executive Director’s Comments (as needed): ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Executive Director’s Signature: ________________________________________________________________

 

Date: ________________________