Bill Text: NY S05508 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to involuntary in-patient mental health treatment where care and treatment in a hospital is essential to a person's welfare if, in the absence of such care and treatment, the person's mental illness is likely to result in serious harm.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO MENTAL HEALTH [S05508 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S05508-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5508 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 6, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to clarifying the standards for involuntary in-patient care and treatment The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known as the "New York 2 State Mental Health Reform Act". 3 § 2. Legislative findings. With the intent of restoring dignity and 4 transparency to our state's treatment and care of mentally ill patients, 5 the state engaged in reforming procedures and policies in implementing 6 preferred outpatient treatment through a structured outpatient treatment 7 process commonly referred to as Kendra's Law. The law was to ensure 8 those individuals requiring mental health treatment were afforded a 9 dignified process in treatment while allowing the patient's liberty to 10 be free to pursue their daily lives without stigma or negative connota- 11 tions attached to mental health. 12 Unfortunately, the practical application of the state's mental hygiene 13 laws has allowed thousands of people who require more stringent mental 14 health protocols for treatment to go without appropriate oversight to 15 ensure their treatment is pursued thus, resulting in severe behavioral 16 transgression to include a large degree of homelessness, criminal behav- 17 ior, toxic drug use and alcoholism. The severity of abhorrent outcomes 18 as the result of a failure to give medical professionals, as well as 19 judicial direction in determining certain behavioral dysfunction(s) that 20 display a need for in-patient care, has severely impacted patient's 21 health, welfare, and their ability to regularly function in society. All 22 too often, we are seeing unsuspecting citizens killed or maimed as the 23 result of violent behavior by patients who have either disregarded or 24 rejected available or mandated mental health services due to their dete- 25 riorating mental state, which compounds the deleterious outcome for the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01614-01-3S. 5508 2 1 patient as well as society. Although outpatient commitment is the 2 preferred mode of treatment for patients seeking mental health services, 3 the occasion arises where judicial intervention to seek immediate, 4 mandated treatment through court ordered in-patient treatment, in order 5 to facilitate an expedited pathway for seeking medical or psychiatric 6 help is necessary to prevent on-going negative behavioral episodes that 7 places the patient or the public at risk of physical injury or death. 8 § 3. The second, third and fourth undesignated paragraphs of section 9 9.01 of the mental hygiene law, as amended by chapter 723 of the laws of 10 1989, are amended to read as follows: 11 "in need of involuntary care and treatment" means that a person has a 12 mental illness for which care and treatment as a patient in a hospital 13 is essential to such person's welfare and [whose] which so impairs the 14 person's judgment [is so impaired that he] that the person is unable to 15 understand the need for such care and treatment. Care and treatment in a 16 hospital shall be considered essential to a person's welfare if, in the 17 absence of such care and treatment, the person's mental illness is like- 18 ly to result in serious harm. 19 ["likelihood to result in serious harm" or] "likely to result in seri- 20 ous harm" means presenting a substantial risk of: (a) [a substantial21risk of] physical or mental harm to the person as manifested by: 22 (i) threats of or attempts at suicide or serious bodily harm; 23 (ii) substantial interference with the person's ability to meet the 24 person's needs for food, clothing, shelter or medical care; or 25 (iii) other conduct demonstrating that the person is dangerous to 26 himself or herself, or (b) [a substantial risk of physical harm to other27persons as manifested by] homicidal or other violent behavior by which 28 others are placed in reasonable fear of serious physical harm. Evalu- 29 ation of the likelihood that a person's mental illness will result in 30 serious harm shall include consideration of all relevant information, 31 including credible reports of the person's recent behavior and any known 32 relevant aspects of the person's medical and behavioral history. 33 "need for retention" means [that] the need of a person who has been 34 admitted to a hospital pursuant to this article [is in need] for a 35 further period of involuntary care and treatment in a hospital [for a36further period]. Evaluation of need for retention shall include consid- 37 eration of the person's preparedness, with appropriate and available 38 support, to adhere to essential outpatient treatment. 39 § 4. Subdivision (a) of section 9.39 of the mental hygiene law, as 40 amended by chapter 789 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as 41 follows: 42 (a) The director of any hospital maintaining adequate staff and facil- 43 ities for the observation, examination, care, and treatment of persons 44 alleged to be mentally ill and approved by the commissioner to receive 45 and retain patients pursuant to this section may receive and retain 46 therein as a patient for a period of fifteen days any person alleged to 47 have a mental illness for which immediate observation, care, and treat- 48 ment in a hospital is appropriate and which is likely to result in seri- 49 ous harm to himself, herself or others. ["Likelihood to result in seri-50ous harm" as used in this article shall mean:511. substantial risk of physical harm to himself as manifested by52threats of or attempts at suicide or serious bodily harm or other53conduct demonstrating that he is dangerous to himself, or542. a substantial risk of physical harm to other persons as manifested55by homicidal or other violent behavior by which others are placed in56reasonable fear of serious physical harm.]S. 5508 3 1 The director shall cause to be entered upon the hospital records the 2 name of the person or persons, if any, who have brought such person to 3 the hospital and the details of the circumstances leading to the hospi- 4 talization of such person. 5 The director shall admit such person pursuant to the provisions of 6 this section only if a staff physician of the hospital upon examination 7 of such person finds that such person qualifies under the requirements 8 of this section. Such person shall not be retained for a period of more 9 than forty-eight hours unless within such period such finding is 10 confirmed after examination by another physician who shall be a member 11 of the psychiatric staff of the hospital. Such person shall be served, 12 at the time of admission, with written notice of his or her status and 13 rights as a patient under this section. Such notice shall contain the 14 patient's name. At the same time, such notice shall also be given to the 15 mental hygiene legal service and personally or by mail to such person or 16 persons, not to exceed three in number, as may be designated in writing 17 to receive such notice by the person alleged to be mentally ill. If at 18 any time after admission, the patient, any relative, friend, or the 19 mental hygiene legal service gives notice to the director in writing of 20 request for court hearing on the question of need for immediate observa- 21 tion, care, and treatment, a hearing shall be held as herein provided as 22 soon as practicable but in any event not more than five days after such 23 request is received, except that the commencement of such hearing may be 24 adjourned at the request of the patient. It shall be the duty of the 25 director upon receiving notice of such request for hearing to forward 26 forthwith a copy of such notice with a record of the patient to the 27 supreme court or county court in the county where such hospital is 28 located. A copy of such notice and record shall also be given the mental 29 hygiene legal service. The court which receives such notice shall fix 30 the date of such hearing and cause the patient or other person request- 31 ing the hearing, the director, the mental hygiene legal service and such 32 other persons as the court may determine to be advised of such date. 33 Upon such date, or upon such other date to which the proceeding may be 34 adjourned, the court shall hear testimony and examine the person alleged 35 to be mentally ill, if it be deemed advisable in or out of court, and 36 shall render a decision in writing that there is reasonable cause to 37 believe that the patient has a mental illness for which immediate inpa- 38 tient care and treatment in a hospital is appropriate and which is like- 39 ly to result in serious harm to himself, herself or others. If it be 40 determined that there is such reasonable cause, the court shall forth- 41 with issue an order authorizing the retention of such patient for any 42 such purpose or purposes in the hospital for a period not to exceed 43 fifteen days from the date of admission. Any such order entered by the 44 court shall not be deemed to be an adjudication that the patient is 45 mentally ill, but only a determination that there is reasonable cause to 46 retain the patient for the purposes of this section. 47 § 5. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall 48 have become a law.