Virginia Law

A. Physical restraint shall be used as a last resort only after less restrictive interventions have failed or to control residents whose behavior poses a risk to the safety of the resident, others, or the public.

1. Staff shall use the least force deemed reasonable to be necessary to eliminate the risk or to maintain security and order and shall never use physical restraint as punishment or with the intent to inflict injury.

2. Staff may physically restrain a resident only after less restrictive behavior interventions have failed or when failure to restrain would result in harm to the resident or others.

3. Physical restraint shall be implemented, monitored, and discontinued only by staff who have been trained in the proper and safe use of restraint.

4. Physical restraint shall mean the application of behavior intervention techniques involving a physical intervention to prevent an individual from moving all or part of that individual's body.

B. Written procedures governing use of physical restraint shall include:

1. The staff position who will write the report and timeframe;

2. The staff position who will review the report and timeframe; and

3. Methods to be followed should physical restraint, less intrusive interventions, or measures permitted by other applicable state regulations prove unsuccessful in calming and moderating the resident's behavior.

C. All physical restraints shall be reviewed and evaluated to plan for continued staff development for performance improvement.

D. Each application of physical restraint shall be fully documented in the resident's record including:

1. Date and time of the incident;

2. Staff involved;

3. Justification for the restraint;

4. Less restrictive behavior interventions that were unsuccessfully attempted prior to using physical restraint;

5. Duration;

6. Description of method or methods of physical restraint techniques used;

7. Signature of the person completing the report and date; and

8. Reviewer's signature and date.