§346-224  Reports.  (a)  The
following persons who, in the performance of their professional or official
duties, know or have reason to believe that a vulnerable adult has incurred
abuse or is in danger of abuse if immediate action is not taken shall promptly
report the matter orally to the department:



(1)  Any licensed or registered professional of the
healing arts and any health-related occupation who examines, treats, or
provides other professional or specialized services to a vulnerable adult,
including physicians, physicians in training, psychologists, dentists, nurses,
osteopathic physicians and surgeons, optometrists, chiropractors, podiatrists,
pharmacists, and other health-related professionals;



(2)  Employees or officers of any public or private agency
or institution providing social, medical, hospital, or mental health services,
including financial assistance;



(3)  Employees or officers of any law enforcement
agency, including the courts, police departments, correctional institutions,
and parole or probation offices;



(4)  Employees or officers of any adult residential
care home, adult day care center, or similar institution;



(5)  Medical examiners or coroners; and



(6)  Social workers licensed pursuant to chapter 467E
and non-licensed persons employed in a social worker position pursuant to
section 467E-6(2).



(b)  The initial oral report required by
subsection (a) shall be followed as soon as possible by a written report to the
department; provided that if a police department is the initiating agency, a
written report shall not be required unless the police department declines to
take further action and the department informs the police department that the
department intends to investigate the oral report of abuse.  A written report
shall contain:



(1)  The name and address of the vulnerable adult, if
known;



(2)  The name and address of the party who is alleged
to have committed or been responsible for the abuse, if known;



(3)  The nature and extent of the vulnerable adult's
injury or harm; and



(4)  Any other information the reporter believes may
be helpful in establishing the cause of the abuse.



(c)  This section shall not prohibit any person
from reporting an incident that the person has reason to believe involves abuse
that came to the person's attention in a private or nonprofessional capacity.



(d)  Any person not enumerated in subsection
(a) who has reason to believe that a vulnerable adult has incurred abuse or is
in danger of abuse if immediate action is not taken may report the matter
orally to the department.



(e)  Any person who knowingly fails to report
as required by this section or who wilfully prevents another person from
reporting pursuant to this section shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor.



(f)  The department shall maintain a central
registry of reported cases.



(g)  Nothing in this section shall require a
member of the clergy to report communications that are protected under rule 506
of chapter 626. [L 1989, c 381, pt of §1; am L 1990, c 144, §1 and c 234, §2;
am L 2008, c 154, §6]



 



Law Journals and Reviews



 



  Holding Hawai‘i
Nursing Facilities Accountable for the Inadequate Pain Management of Elderly
Residents.  27 UH L. Rev. 233.