30:4-3.18. Patient abuse, professional misconduct reporting program

4. The Commissioner of Human Services shall establish a patient abuse and professional misconduct reporting program for the State psychiatric hospitals.

a. The program shall provide, at a minimum, that State psychiatric hospital employees are:

(1) trained in recognizing probable incidents of or behavior that constitutes patient abuse or professional misconduct and other abuse prevention activities pursuant to P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as Senate Bill No.1543 or Assembly Bill No. 2427 of 1996);

(2) informed of the duty to report the suspected patient abuse or professional misconduct pursuant to this act; and

(3) provided with the name and phone number of the person designated by the commissioner who shall be notified of any suspected patient abuse or professional misconduct.

b. The commissioner shall designate one or more employees of the Department of Human Services who are not employees of any of the State psychiatric hospitals to serve as a contact person for employees of State psychiatric hospitals to notify in the event an employee has reasonable cause to suspect that a patient is being or has been abused by any other employee of the hospital, by another patient in the hospital or by any other person, or has any information concerning suspected professional misconduct by a clinical treatment staff or nursing direct care staff member working at the hospital.

c. The designated contact person shall report all reported incidents or allegations of patient abuse and professional misconduct to the Director of the Division of Mental Health Services, the Commissioner of Human Services, or their designees. The director shall cause a prompt investigation of any report of patient abuse or professional misconduct and notify the Commissioner of Human Services of the results of the investigation.

d. The Director of the Division of Mental Health Services, in a case in which professional misconduct is suspected, shall promptly notify the appropriate State licensing or certifying authority or professional board, if any, having jurisdiction over the person who has been reported, of the report by the hospital employee and the results of the director's investigation of the report.

e. The Director of the Division of Mental Health Services shall promptly report all instances of suspected patient abuse, as determined by the director's investigation of a report by an employee of a State psychiatric hospital, to the county prosecutor of the county in which the hospital is located. The report to the county prosecutor shall be in accordance with regulations adopted by the Commissioner of Human Services in consultation with the County Prosecutors Association of New Jersey and the Attorney General.

f. Upon receipt of a report pursuant to subsection e. of this section, the county prosecutor may conduct his own review of the suspected patient abuse and take any appropriate action.

g. Nothing in this section shall preclude the Human Services police officers from conducting an investigation.

L.1997,c.70,s.4.