Sec. 18.20.095. Mental health patient's right to select staff; duties of hospital staff.

496 words·~2 min read·/ak/title-18/chapter-20/18-20-095

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(a)Except as provided in

(d)of this section, a patient 18 years of age or older who is receiving mental health treatment and being provided intimate care at a hospital shall have a right to have care provided by a staff member who is the gender that the patient requests.

(b)A supervisor or manager employed by a hospital shall

(1)post a notice of the right provided under

(a)of this section in a conspicuous place; and

(2)if, after reasonable and good faith efforts to comply, the hospital is unable to comply with the requirement under

(a)of this section,

(A)document in the patient record that intimate care was provided by a licensed staff member of the gender opposite to the gender requested by the patient under

(a)of this section; or

(B)if a licensed staff member is not on duty at the time of the patient's request under

(a)of this section, document in the patient record that the care was provided by an unlicensed staff member of the gender opposite to that requested under

(a)of this section.

(c)Staff members employed by a hospital shall, in regard to patients receiving mental health treatment,

(1)provide privacy for each patient, especially for patients who are the opposite gender and especially when patient care involves intimate bodily functions, unavoidable intimate touching, or nudity;

(2)except when necessitated by a medical emergency that is documented in the patient's record, avoid entering patient care areas for a person of the opposite gender and areas specified for persons of the opposite gender; and

(3)conduct routine safety checks and rounds of bedrooms, bathrooms, and shower areas only of patients who are the same gender as the staff member.

(d)A hospital is exempt from the requirements of

(a)of this section if the treating psychiatrist for the patient at the hospital determines that compliance would adversely affect patient treatment and the psychiatrist documents the determination in the patient's record.

(e)In this section,

(1)“intimate care” means hygienic care, including bathing, dressing, changing, and toileting, that involves a patient's perineal area and, for a female patient, the patient's breasts; “intimate care” does not include activities done in preparation for medical procedures;

(2)“licensed staff member” means a person who is employed by the hospital to provide direct patient care and who is licensed or certified in the state as a physician or physician assistant under AS 08.64 , direct-entry midwife under AS 08.65 , nurse or nurse aide under AS 08.68 , or physical therapist or occupational therapist under AS 08.84 ;

(3)“mental health treatment” means admission to a hospital primarily for electroconvulsive treatment or treatment with psychotropic medication, or admission to and retention in a health care institution for other mental health treatment;

(4)“staff member” means a person employed by a hospital to provide direct patient care.