HB 1394 Summary

• Prohibits hospitals and medical facilities from restraining or confining minors and vulnerable adult patients except when necessary to prevent injury, as part of a treatment plan, or to preserve others' rights.

• Requires that restraint or seclusion be used only after less intrusive interventions have failed or been determined inappropriate for the patient.

• Bans physical restraints that threaten a patient's life, including those that restrict breathing.

• Defines restraint to include mechanical restraint (devices restricting movement or communication), chemical restraint (medications to control behavior), and physical restraint (personal restrictions limiting limb or head movement).

• Defines seclusion as confining a patient alone in a room or structure from which they are physically denied voluntary exit; excludes standard prescribed medications from the definition of chemical restraint.