Washington Administrative Code (WAC) 388-865-0900 to 0970 [PDF], containing new rules related to restraint and seclusion for health care facilities, was adopted on October 21, 2015 and came into effect on January 2, 2016.
 
Key points of the new rules include:
  • It sets rules around facilities providing competency evaluation and restoration treatment services including a residential treatment facility (RTF); a general hospital; a private psychiatric hospital; or an inpatient evaluation and treatment facility.
     
  • It states that those individuals have the right to be free from seclusion and restraint, including chemical restraint.
     
  • The Washington Department of Social and Health Services must develop, implement, and maintain policies and procedures to ensure that seclusion and restraint procedures are used only to the extent necessary to ensure the safety of an individual.
  • It mandates that all staff must receive annual training that includes management of assaultive and self-destructive behaviors, including proper and safe use of seclusion and/or restraint procedures.
     
  • Mandates that seclusion and restraint are only used as a last resort. 
CPI Training Can Help Your Facility Comply With the Rules
The Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training program equips staff in techniques for both the prevention of and the safe use of manual restraint. Our program provides training in identifying the underlying causes of the client behaviors that can lead to restraint, and in understanding how staff behavior affects client behavior, and vice versa. The training focuses on prevention and de-escalation techniques and other alternatives to the use of restraint, as well as information on evaluating risk of harm; monitoring for signs of distress; documenting incidents; and safer, less restrictive physical interventions to be used only as a last resort. Additionally, the program helps staff build and expand their person-centered, trauma-informed approach to care.
 
How to Get Training
We can bring the Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® training program on-site to your organization, or you can attend training in one of more than 150 public locations throughout the US.
 
Advanced Course
If you’re already a Nonviolent Crisis Intervention® Certified Instructor, you can share strategies with your staff from our advanced course, Trauma-Informed Care: Implications for CPI's Crisis Development ModelSM. This course dives deep into the influence of trauma on behavior and offers additional strategies to help you better serve individuals who have experienced traumatic events. Locate an upcoming public program or have us bring the training to you.
 
More Resources
Get helpful hints for crisis intervention and learn about CPI training and restraint reduction.