                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES MORTALITY REVIEW COMMITTEE; DUTIES; MEMBERSHIP;
CONFIDENTIALITY; REPORT; PENALTY (§ 37.2-314.1)

A. There is hereby created the Developmental Disabilities Mortality Review
Committee (the Committee), which shall develop and implement procedures to
ensure that deaths of persons with developmental disabilities receiving services
from a provider licensed by the Department or in a training center or other
state facility are reviewed and analyzed in a systematic way. The Committee
shall review each death of a person with a developmental disability who was
receiving services from a provider licensed by the Department or in a training
center or other state facility at the time of his death. The Committee shall
develop and revise as necessary operating procedures for the review of deaths of
such persons, including identification of cases to be reviewed and procedures
for coordinating among the agencies and professionals involved in such review.
Such operating procedures shall be exempt from the Administrative Process Act
(&#xA7; 2.2-4000 et seq.) pursuant to subdivision B 17 of &#xA7; 2.2-4002.

B. The Committee shall consist of the following persons or their designees: the
Chief Clinical Officer appointed by the Commissioner; the Clinical Manager,
Program Coordinator and Clinical Reviewer of the Department&#8217;s Mortality
Review Team; the Senior Director of Quality Improvement of the Department; an
employee of the Department with experience related to quality improvement; an
employee of the Department with relevant programmatic or operational experience;
a person licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy in the Commonwealth; a
person licensed to practice as a registered nurse in the Commonwealth; and a
person with experience in conducting mortality reviews who is not employed by or
otherwise affiliated with the Department. The Chief Clinical Officer and the
Clinical Manager of the Department&#8217;s Mortality Review Team shall serve as
co-chairs of the Committee. The co-chairs of the committee or the Commissioner
may appoint such additional members of the Committee as may be needed to
complete developmental disability mortality reviews pursuant to this section.
			Members of the Committee shall serve such terms as may be determined by the
Commissioner.

C. Upon the request of the Chief Clinical Officer in his capacity as a co-chair
of the Committee, information and records regarding an individual whose death is
being reviewed by the Committee, including (i) any report of the circumstances
of the death maintained by any state or local law-enforcement agency or the
Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and (ii) information or records about the
person maintained by any facility, hospital, nursing home, or health care
provider that provided services to the individual, any social services agency
that provided services to the individual, or any court shall be provided to the
Chief Clinical Officer or his designee. Any presentence report prepared pursuant
to &#xA7; 19.2-299 for any person convicted of a crime that may have led to the
death of the person whose death is the subject of review by the Committee shall
be made available to the Chief Clinical Officer or his designee for inspection.
In addition, the Chief Clinical Officer or his designee may inspect and copy
from any health care provider in the Commonwealth, on behalf of the Committee,
any health or mental health record of the individual, without authorization.

D. All information obtained or generated by the Committee or on behalf of the
Committee regarding a review shall be confidential and excluded from the
Virginia Freedom of Information Act (&#xA7; 2.2-3700 et seq.) pursuant to
subdivision 7 of &#xA7; 2.2-3705.5. Such information shall not be subject to
subpoena or discovery or be admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding. If
available from other sources, however, such information and records shall not be
immune from subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence when obtained
through such other sources solely because the information and records were
presented to the Committee during a review pursuant to this section. The
Committee shall compile all requested information collected for a clinical
review. The findings of the Committee may be disclosed or published in
statistical or other form but shall not identify any individuals.
			The portions of meetings in which individual death cases are discussed by the
Committee shall be closed pursuant to subdivision A 21 of &#xA7; 2.2-3711. In
addition to the requirements of &#xA7; 2.2-3712, all members of the Committee
and other persons attending closed meetings of the Committee, including any
persons presenting information or records on specific deaths, shall sign an
agreement to maintain the confidentiality of the information, records,
discussions, and opinions disclosed during meetings at which the Committee
reviews a specific death. No member of the Committee or other person who
participates in a review shall be required to make any statement regarding the
review or any information collected during the review. Violations of this
subsection are punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor.

E. Upon notification of the death of a person with a developmental disability
who was receiving services from a provider licensed by the Department or in a
training center or other state facility, any state or local government agency or
facility that provided services to the person or maintained records on the
person or the person&#8217;s family shall retain the records for 12 months after
the date of the death.

F. The Committee shall report its activities annually to the Governor and the
General Assembly by December 1. Such report shall include statistical and other
data on the deaths of persons with a developmental disability who were receiving
services from a provider licensed by the Department or in a training center or
other state facility at the time of their death and recommendations developed by
the Committee to address the conditions that led to such deaths. Any statistical
compilations prepared by the Committee shall be public record and shall not
contain any personally identifying information.

HISTORY: 2020, c. 851.