This section provides definitions for key terms used throughout Chapter 5210, which governs mental health partial hospitalization programs in Pennsylvania. Defined terms include 'partial hospitalization,' 'facility,' 'mental health professional,' 'mental health worker,' and various clinical staff roles such as psychiatrist, child psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse, and psychologist. Compliance staff should use these definitions when interpreting staffing, treatment planning, and operational requirements elsewhere in the chapter.
View official source55 Pa. Code § 5210.3 - Definitions State Regulations Compare The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise: Child psychiatrist -A physician who has completed a residency in psychiatry and who has a specialty in child psychiatry and who is licensed to practice in this Commonwealth. Clinical staff -A mental health professional or mental health worker. The term does not include support staff such as clerical, fiscal or administrative. Department -The Department of Public Welfare. FTE-Full-time equivalent -Thirty-seven and one-half hours per week of staff time. Facility -A mental health establishment, hospital, clinic, institution, center, day care or other organizational unit or part thereof, which is devoted primarily to the diagnosis, treatment, care and rehabilitation of mentally ill or emotionally disturbed persons. Mental health professional -A person trained in a generally recognized clinical discipline including, but not limited to, psychiatry, social work, psychology or nursing, rehabilitation or activity therapies who has a graduate degree and mental health clinical experience. Mental health worker -A person without a graduate degree who by training and experience has achieved recognition as a mental health worker. Partial hospitalization -A nonresidential treatment modality which includes psychiatric, psychological, social and vocational elements under medical supervision. It is designed for patients with moderate to severe mental or emotional disorders. Partial hospitalization patients require less than 24-hour care, but more intensive and comprehensive services than are offered in outpatient treatment programs. Partial hospitalization is provided on a planned and regularly scheduled basis for a minimum of 3 hours, but less than 24 hours in any 1 day. Program capacity -The maximum number of patients which the program is designed to serve on 1 day. Since some patients may attend the program less frequently than every day, it is not the total registered patient population. Psychiatric nurse -A person who by years of study, training and experience has achieved professional recognition and standing in the field of psychiatric nursing and who is licensed by the State Board of Nursing to engage in the practice of professional nursing. Psychiatric social worker -A person with a graduate degree in social work who by years of study, training and experience in mental health has achieved professional recognition and standing in the field of psychiatric social work. Psychiatrist -A physician who has completed a 3-year residency in psychiatry and who is licensed to practice in this Commonwealth. Psychologist -A person licensed to practice psychology in this Commonwealth. Quality assurance program -A formal process to assure quality care and maximize program benefit to patients. Notes 55 Pa. Code § 5210.3 State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare. No prior version found. State Regulations Toolbox