Section He-M 310.02 - Definitions The words and phrases used in this part shall have the following meanings:
(a) "Abuse" means an act or omission by an employee, consultant, or volunteer of a provider agency which is not accidental and harms or threatens to harm an individual's physical, mental or emotional health, or safety and includes emotional abuse, physical abuse, and sexual abuse;(b) "Acquired brain disorder" means a disruption in brain functioning that:(1) Is not congenital or caused by birth trauma;(2) Presents a severe and life-long disabling condition which significantly impairs a person's ability to function in society;(3) Occurs prior to age 60;(4) Is attributable to one or more of the following reasons:a. External trauma to the brain as a result of:1. A motor vehicle incident;4. Another related traumatic incident or occurrence;b. Anoxic or hypoxic injury to the brain such as from:1. Cardiopulmonary arrest;2. Carbon monoxide poisoning;c. Infectious diseases such as encephalitis and meningitis;f. Cerebrovascular disruption such as a stroke;h. Other neurological disorders such as Huntington's disease or multiple sclerosis which predominantly affect the central nervous system; and(5) Is manifested by one or more of the following:a. Significant decline in cognitive functioning and ability; orb. Deterioration in:4. Modulation of mood; or5. Awareness of deficits;(c) "Applicant" means any person who requests services pursuant to He-M 503.04 or He-M 522.04;(d) "Area agency" means "area agency" as defined in RSA 171-A:2, I-b;(e) "Attorney" means a member of the New Hampshire bar association retained, employed, or appointed by a court to represent an individual;(f) "Coercion" means an act by an employee, contractor, consultant, or volunteer of a provider agency which is designed to compel an individual to act in clear opposition to the preference of the individual, excluding requirements otherwise prescribed by law or rule;(g) "Community residence" means either an agency residence as defined in He-M 1001.02 (b) or family residence as defined in He-M 1001.02 (p) exclusive of any independent living arrangement that: (1) Provides residential services for at least one person with a developmental disability, in accordance with He-M 503, or acquired brain disorder in accordance with He-M 522;(2) Provides services and supervision for an individual on a daily and ongoing basis, both in the home and in the community, unless the individual's service agreement states that the individual may be without supervision for specified periods of time;(3) Serves individuals whose services are funded by the department; and(4) Is certified pursuant to He-M 1001;(h) "Designated receiving facility (DRF)" means a residential treatment program designated by the commissioner pursuant to RSA 171-A:20 and He-M 526 to provide care, custody, and treatment to persons involuntarily admitted to the state developmental services system;(i) "Developmental disability" means "developmental disability" as defined in RSA 171-A:2, V, namely, "a disability: a. Which is attributable to an intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or a specific learning disability, or any other condition of an individual found to be closely related to an intellectual disability as it refers to general intellectual functioning or impairment in adaptive behavior or requires treatment similar to that required for persons with an intellectual disability; andb. Which originates before such individual attains age 22, has continued or can be expected to continue indefinitely, and constitutes a severe disability to such individual's ability to function normally in society.";(j) "Emotional abuse" means: (1) The misuse of power, authority or both;(2) Verbal harassment; or(3) Unreasonable confinement which results or could result in the mental anguish or emotional distress of an individual;(k) "Exploitation" means the use of an individual's person or property for another's profit or advantage or breach of a fiduciary relationship through improper use of an individual's person or property including situations where a person obtains money, property, or services from an individual through undue influence, harassment, deception, or fraud;(l) "Guardian" means a person appointed under RSA 463 or RSA 464-A or who is a parent of an individual under the age of 18 whose parental rights have not been terminated or limited by law in such a way as to remove the person's right to make decisions pursuant to RSA 171-A on behalf of the individual;(m) "Habilitation" means "habilitation" as defined in RSA 171-A:2, IX, namely, "the process by which program personnel assist clients to acquire and maintain those life skills which enable them to cope more effectively with the demands of their own persons and of their environment, to be economically self-sufficient and to raise the level of their physical, mental and social efficiency. Habilitation includes but is not limited to programs of formal, structured education and treatment.";(n) "Individual" means a person who has a developmental disability as defined in (i) above or an acquired brain disorder as defined in (b) above;(o) "Individual treatment plan" means, for an individual receiving treatment pursuant to RSA 171-B:12, a plan developed by the individual's treatment team to address the individual's clinical needs and the behavior or condition which creates a potential danger for others;(p) "Informed decision" means a choice made voluntarily by an individual receiving services or an applicant for services or, where appropriate, such person's legal guardian or representative, after all relevant information necessary to making the choice has been provided, when: (1) The person understands that he or she is free to choose or refuse any available alternative;(2) The person clearly indicates or expresses his or her choice; and(3) The choice is free from all coercion;(q) "Intellectual disability" means "intellectual disability" as defined in RSA 171-A:2, XI-a, namely, "significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior, and manifested during the developmental period. A person with an intellectual disability may be considered mentally ill provided that no person with an intellectual disability shall be considered mentally ill solely by virtue of his or her intellectual disability.";(r) "Neglect" means an act or omission which results or could result in the deprivation of essential services necessary to maintain the minimum mental, emotional, or physical health of an individual;(s) "Parent" means the father or mother of an individual under the age of 18 whose parental rights have not been terminated or limited by law;(t) "Physical abuse" means the use of physical force which results or could result in physical injury to an individual;(u) "Prescribing practitioner" means a licensed professional with prescriptive authority, including the following: (2) Advance practice registered nurse (APRN);(4) Physician's assistant; (v) "Provider agency" means an entity that is providing services to individuals;(w) "Resident" means an individual who lives in a community residence;(x) "Restraint" means:(1) Any manual method, physical or mechanical device, material, or equipment that immobilizes an individual or reduces the ability of an individual to move his or her arms, legs, head, or other body parts freely but does not include devices, such as orthopedically prescribed devices, or other methods that involve the physical holding of an individual, if necessary, for the purpose of: a. Protecting the individual from falling out of bed; orb. Permitting the individual to participate in activities without the risk of physical harm; or(2) Any drug or medication when it:a. Is used as a restriction to manage an individual's behavior or restrict the individual's freedom of movement; andb. Is not a standard treatment or dosage for the individual's diagnosis, in that its overall effect reduces an individual's ability to effectively or appropriately interact; or(3) "Restraint" as defined in RSA 126-U:1, IV as applied to a person who has not reached 18 years of age, or who is otherwise a child as defined by RSA 126-U:1, I;(y) "Representative" means: (1) The parent or guardian of an individual under the age of 18;(2) The legal guardian of an individual 18 or over; or(3) A person who has power of attorney for the individual;(z) "Seclusion" means (1) For an individual who is 18 or older:a. Is placed alone in a room or area from which the individual is physically prevented, by lock or person, from leaving; andb. Cannot or will not make an informed decision to agree to such confinement; or(2) "Seclusion" as defined in RSA 126-U:1, V-a as applied to a person who has not reached 18 years of age, or who is otherwise a child as defined by RSA 126-U:1, I;(aa) "Service" means any evaluation, training, counseling, therapy, habilitation, service coordination, or other type of assistance provided by a provider agency;(ab) "Sexual abuse" means contact or interaction of a sexual nature between an individual and an employee of or a consultant or volunteer for a provider agency;(ac) "Service agreement" means a written agreement between the individual, guardian, or representative and provider(s) that is prepared as a result of the person-centered planning process and describes the services that an individual will receive and constitutes an individual service agreement as defined in RSA 171-A:2, X; and(ad) "Treatment" means medical care provided by a prescribing practitioner.N.H. Admin. Code § He-M 310.02
#4413, eff 4-27-88; ss by #5094, eff 3-15-91; ss by #6212, INTERIM, eff 3-30-96, EXPIRES: 12-31-98; ss by #6758, eff 5-27-98; ss by #8640, INTERIM, eff 5-27-06, EXPIRES: 11-23-06; ss by #8701, eff 8-4-06
Amended byVolume XXXV Number 18, Filed May 7, 2015 , Proposed by #10821, Effective 4/25/2015, Expires4/25/2025.Amended by Number 28, Filed July 13, 2023, Proposed by #13676, Effective 6/24/2023, Expires 6/24/2033.