Nancy L. Johnson: “I thank my friend and the honored chairman of this subcommittee the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) for bringing…”

“I thank my friend and the honored chairman of this subcommittee the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Bilirakis) for bringing forward a really extremely important bill that will provide many good services for children throughout America. There are two specific provisions intended to protect children in therapeutic group homes, patients in psychiatric hospitals, old folks in nursing homes and youths in juvenile detention centers from hurting themselves and others. The intent behind these provisions is to ensure that vulnerable populations who live behind closed doors are safe and treated with respect and dignity. This bill establishes standards for the clinical use of restraints to physically stabilize a patient and protocols for time-out situations that require the patient to be separated from others. This is the first time that Congress has attempted to legislate clinical practices in health care facilities as well as nonmedical community-based facilities. For this reason it is very important that this legislation be clear and unambiguous about the kinds of practices that will be prohibited and the kinds that will be encouraged. Unfortunately, the legislation is not exactly clear.”