Part IV. Safety and Security
Article 6
Records
6VAC35-41-480. Fire prevention plan.
Each facility shall develop a fire prevention plan that provides for an adequate fire protection service.
Statutory Authority
§§ 16.1-309.9, 66-10, and 66-24 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.
6VAC35-41-490. Emergency and evacuation procedures.
A. The provider shall develop a written emergency preparedness and response plan for each facility. The plan shall address:
1. Documentation of contact with the local emergency coordinator to determine (i) local disaster risks, (ii) communitywide plans to address different disasters and emergency situations, and (iii) assistance, if any, that the local emergency management office will provide to the facility in an emergency;
2. Analysis of the provider's capabilities and potential hazards, including natural disasters, severe weather, fire, flooding, work place violence or terrorism, missing persons, severe injuries, or other emergencies that would disrupt the normal course of service delivery;
3. Written emergency management procedures outlining specific responsibilities for provision of administrative direction and management of response activities; coordination of logistics during the emergency; communications; life safety of employees, contractors, interns, volunteers, visitors and residents; property protection; community outreach; and recovery and restoration;
4. Written emergency response procedures for assessing the situation; protecting residents, employees, contractors, interns, volunteers, visitors, equipment and vital records; and restoring services. Emergency procedures shall address:
a. Communicating with employees, contractors, and community responders;
b. Warning and notification of residents;
c. Providing emergency access to secure areas and opening locked doors;
d. Conducting evacuations to emergency shelters or alternative sites and accounting for all residents;
e. Relocating residents, if necessary;
f. Notifying parents and legal guardians, as applicable and appropriate;
g. Alerting emergency personnel and sounding alarms;
h. Locating and shutting off utilities when necessary; and
i. Providing for a planned, personalized means of effective egress for residents who use wheelchairs, crutches, canes, or other mechanical devices for assistance in walking.
5. Supporting documents that would be needed in an emergency, including emergency call lists, building and site maps necessary to shut off utilities, designated escape routes, and list of major resources such as local emergency shelters; and
6. Schedule for testing the implementation of the plan and conducting emergency preparedness drills.
B. The provider shall develop emergency preparedness and response training for all employees to ensure they are prepared to implement the emergency preparedness plan in the event of an emergency. Such training shall include the employees' responsibilities for:
1. Alerting emergency personnel and sounding alarms;
2. Implementing evacuation procedures, including evacuation of residents with special needs (i.e., deaf, blind, nonambulatory);
3. Using, maintaining, and operating emergency equipment;
4. Accessing emergency information for residents including medical information; and
5. Utilizing community support services.
C. Contractors and volunteers and interns shall be oriented in their responsibilities in implementing the emergency preparedness plan in the event of an emergency.
D. The provider shall review and document the review of the emergency preparedness plan annually and make necessary revisions. Such revisions shall be communicated to employees, contractors, interns, and volunteers and incorporated into training for employees, contractors, interns, and volunteers and orientation of residents to services.
E. In the event of a disaster, fire, emergency, or any other condition that may jeopardize the health, safety, and welfare of residents, the provider shall take appropriate action to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the residents and to remedy the conditions as soon as possible.
F. In the event of a disaster, fire, emergency, or any other condition that may jeopardize the health, safety, and welfare of residents, the provider should first respond and stabilize the disaster or emergency. After the disaster or emergency is stabilized, the provider shall report the disaster or emergency in accordance with 6VAC35-41-90 (serious incident reports).
G. Floor plans showing primary and secondary means of emergency exiting shall be posted on each floor in locations where they can be seen easily by staff and residents.
H. The responsibilities of the residents in implementing the emergency procedures shall be communicated to all residents within seven days following admission or a substantive change in the procedures.
I. At least one evacuation drill (the simulation of the facility's emergency procedures) shall be conducted each month in each building occupied by residents. During any three consecutive calendar months, at least one evacuation drill shall be conducted during each shift.
J. Evacuation drills shall include, at a minimum:
1. Sounding of emergency alarms;
2. Practice in evacuating buildings;
3. Practice in alerting emergency authorities;
4. Simulated use of emergency equipment; and
5. Practice in accessing resident emergency information.
K. A record shall be maintained for each evacuation drill and shall include the following:
1. Buildings in which the drill was conducted;
2. Date and time of drill;
3. Amount of time to evacuate the buildings;
4. Specific problems encountered;
5. Staff tasks completed including:
a. Head count, and
b. Practice in notifying emergency authorities; and
6. The name of the staff members responsible for conducting and documenting the drill and preparing the record.
L. The facility shall assign one staff member who shall ensure that all requirements regarding the emergency preparedness and response plan and the evacuation drill program are met.
Statutory Authority
§§ 16.1-309.9, 66-10, and 66-24 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.
6VAC35-41-500. Contraband.
Written procedure shall provide for the control, detection, and disposition of contraband.
Statutory Authority
§§ 16.1-309.9, 66-10, and 66-24 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.
6VAC35-41-510. Searches of residents.
A. Each facility that conducts searches shall have procedures that provide that all searches shall be subject to the following:
1. Searches of residents' persons shall be conducted only for the purposes of maintaining facility security and controlling contraband while protecting the dignity of the resident.
2. Searches are conducted only by personnel who are authorized to conduct such searches.
3. The resident shall not be touched any more than is necessary to conduct the search.
B. Facilities that do not conduct searches of residents shall have a procedure prohibiting them.
C. Patdown and frisk searches shall be conducted by personnel of the same sex as the resident being searched, except in emergencies.
D. Strip searches and visual inspections of the vagina and anal cavity areas shall only be permitted (i) if ordered by a court; (ii) if conducted by law-enforcement personnel acting in his official capacity; or (iii) if the facility obtains the approval of the regulatory authority to conduct such searches. A facility that conducts such searches shall have a procedure that provides that the searches shall be subject to the following:
1. The search shall be performed by personnel of the same sex as the resident being searched;
2. The search shall be conducted in an area that ensures privacy; and
3. Any witness to the search shall be of the same sex as the resident.
E. Manual and instrumental searches of the anal cavity or vagina shall be prohibited unless court ordered.
Statutory Authority
§§ 16.1-309.9, 66-10, and 66-24 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.
6VAC35-41-520. Telephone access and emergency numbers.
A. There shall be at least one continuously operable, nonpay telephone accessible to staff in each building in which residents sleep or participate in programs.
B. There shall be an emergency telephone number where a staff person may be immediately contacted 24 hours a day.
C. An emergency telephone number shall be provided to residents and the adults responsible for their care when a resident is away from the facility and not under the supervision of direct care staff or law-enforcement officials.
Statutory Authority
§§ 16.1-309.9, 66-10, and 66-24 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.
6VAC35-41-530. Internet access.
Facilities that allow resident access to the Internet shall have procedures governing such usage.
Statutory Authority
§§ 16.1-309.9, 66-10, and 66-24 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.
6VAC35-41-540. Weapons.
A. The possession, use, and storage of weapons in facilities or on the premises where residents are reasonably expected to have access are prohibited except when specifically authorized by statutes or regulations or provided in subsection B of this section. For the purpose of this section, weapons shall include but will not be limited to (i) any pistol, revolver, or other weapon intended to propel a missile of any kind by action of an explosion; (ii) any dirk, bowie knife, except a pocket knife having a folding metal blade of less than three inches, switchblade knife, ballistic knife, machete, straight razor, slingshot, spring stick, metal knucks, or blackjack; (iii) nunchucks or other flailing instrument with two or more rigid parts that swing freely; and (iv) throwing star or oriental dart.
B. Weapons shall be permitted if they are in the possession of a licensed security personnel or law-enforcement officer while in the course of his duties.
Statutory Authority
§§ 16.1-309.9, 66-10, and 66-24 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.
6VAC35-41-550. Transportation.
A. It shall be the responsibility of the facility to have transportation available or to make the necessary arrangements for routine and emergency transportation.
B. There shall be written safety rules for transportation of residents and, if applicable, for the use and maintenance of vehicles.
C. The facility shall have a procedure for the verification of appropriate licensure for staff whose duties involve transporting residents.
Statutory Authority
§§ 16.1-309.9, 66-10, and 66-24 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from Virginia Register Volume 29, Issue 25, eff. January 1, 2014.