(a) A facility described in subdivision (a) of Section 1180.2 or subdivision (a) of Section 1180.3 shall conduct an initial assessment of each person prior to a placement decision or upon admission to the facility, or as soon thereafter as possible. This assessment shall include input from the person and from someone whom the person desires to be present, such as a family member, significant other, or authorized representative designated by the person, and if the desired third party can be present at the time of admission. This assessment shall also include, based on the information available at the time of initial assessment, all of the following:

(1) A person’s advance directive regarding deescalation or the use of seclusion or behavioral restraints.

(2) Identification of early warning signs, triggers, and precipitants that cause a person to escalate, and identification of the earliest precipitant of aggression for persons with a known or suspected history of aggressiveness, or persons who are currently aggressive.

(3) Techniques, methods, or tools that would help the person control the person’s behavior.

(4) Preexisting medical conditions or any physical disabilities or limitations that would place the person at greater risk during restraint or seclusion.

(5) Any trauma history, including any history of sexual or physical abuse that the affected person feels is relevant.

(b) A facility described in subdivision (a) of Section 1180.2 or subdivision (a) of Section 1180.3 may use seclusion or behavioral restraints for behavioral emergencies only when a person’s behavior presents an imminent danger of serious harm to self or others.

(c) A facility described in subdivision (a) of Section 1180.2 or subdivision (a) of Section 1180.3 shall not use either of the following:

(1) A physical restraint or containment technique that obstructs a person’s respiratory airway or impairs the person’s breathing or respiratory capacity, including techniques in which a staff member places pressure on a person’s back or places the staff member’s body weight against the person’s torso or back.

(2) A pillow, blanket, or other item covering the person’s face as part of a physical or mechanical restraint or containment process.

(d) A facility described in subdivision (a) of Section 1180.2 or subdivision (a) of Section 1180.3 shall not use physical or mechanical restraint or containment on a person who has a known medical or physical condition and there is reason to believe that the use would endanger the person’s life or seriously exacerbate the person’s medical condition.

(e) (1) A facility described in subdivision (a) of Section 1180.2 or subdivision (a) of Section 1180.3 shall not use prone mechanical restraint on a person at risk for positional asphyxiation as a result of one of the following risk factors that are known to the provider:

(A) Obesity.

(B) Pregnancy.

(C) Agitated delirium or excited delirium syndromes.

(D) Cocaine, methamphetamine, or alcohol intoxication.

(E) Exposure to pepper spray.

(F) Preexisting heart disease, including, but not limited to, an enlarged heart or other cardiovascular disorders.

(G) Respiratory conditions, including emphysema, bronchitis, or asthma.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply when written authorization has been provided by a physician, made to accommodate a person’s stated preference for the prone position or because the physician judges other clinical risks to take precedence. The written authorization may not be a standing order, and shall be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the physician.

(f) A facility described in subdivision (a) of Section 1180.2 or subdivision (a) of Section 1180.3 shall avoid the deliberate use of prone containment techniques whenever possible, utilizing the best practices in early intervention techniques, such as deescalation. If prone containment techniques are used in an emergency situation, a staff member shall observe the person for any signs of physical duress throughout the use of prone containment. Whenever possible, the staff member monitoring the person shall not be involved in restraining the person.

(g) A facility described in subdivision (a) of Section 1180.2 or subdivision (a) of Section 1180.3 shall not place a person in a facedown position with the person’s hands held or restrained behind the person’s back.

(h) A facility described in subdivision (a) of Section 1180.2 or subdivision (a) of Section 1180.3 shall not use physical restraint or containment as an extended procedure. A facility described in subdivision (a) of Section 4684.80 or paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 4698 of the Welfare and Institutions Code that is licensed by the State Department of Social Services shall not use physical restraint or containment for more than 15 consecutive minutes. The department may, by regulation, authorize an exception to the 15-minute maximum duration if necessary to protect the immediate health and safety of residents or others from risk of imminent serious physical harm and the use of physical restraint or containment conforms to the facility program plan approved by the State Department of Developmental Services pursuant to subdivision (i) of Section 4684.81 or subdivision (d) of Section 4698, as applicable, of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(i) A facility described in subdivision (a) of Section 1180.2 or subdivision (a) of Section 1180.3 shall keep under constant, face-to-face human observation a person who is in seclusion and in any type of behavioral restraint at the same time. Observation by means of video camera may be utilized only in facilities that are already permitted to use video monitoring under federal regulations specific to that facility.

(j) A facility described in subdivision (a) of Section 1180.2 or subdivision (a) of Section 1180.3 shall afford to persons who are restrained the least restrictive alternative and the maximum freedom of movement, while ensuring the physical safety of the person and others, and shall use the least number of restraint points.

(k) A person in a facility described in subdivision (a) of Section 1180.2 and subdivision (a) of Section 1180.3 has the right to be free from the use of seclusion and behavioral restraints of any form imposed as a means of coercion, discipline, convenience, or retaliation by staff. This right includes, but is not limited to, the right to be free from the use of a drug used in order to control behavior or to restrict the person’s freedom of movement, if that drug is not a standard treatment for the person’s medical or psychiatric condition.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 28, Sec. 1. (SB 81) Effective June 27, 2019.)