Assembly Bill No. 636–Committee on Health and Human Services

 

CHAPTER..........

 

AN ACT relating to mental health; authorizing certain persons to transport an allegedly mentally ill person to a mental health facility at the request of the proper authority; authorizing a physician’s assistant or an advanced practitioner of nursing to conduct the medical examination required for the emergency admission of an allegedly mentally ill person to a mental health facility; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN

SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

 

   Section 1. NRS 433A.160 is hereby amended to read as follows:

   433A.160  1.  Application for an emergency admission of an allegedly

mentally ill person for evaluation and observation may only be made by an

accredited agent of the department, an officer authorized to make arrests in

the State of Nevada or a physician, psychologist, marriage and family

therapist, social worker or registered nurse. The agent, officer, physician,

psychologist, marriage and family therapist, social worker or registered

nurse may take an allegedly mentally ill person into custody without a

warrant to apply for emergency admission for evaluation, observation and

treatment under NRS 433A.150 and may [transport] :

   (a) Transport the person ; or [arrange the transportation for him with a]

   (b) Arrange for the person to be transported by:

     (1) A local law enforcement agency ;

     (2) A system for the nonemergency medical transportation of

persons whose operation is authorized by the transportation services

authority; or

     (3) If medically necessary, an ambulance service that holds a

permit issued pursuant to the provisions of chapter 450B of NRS,

to a public or private mental health facility for that purpose.

   2.  The application must reveal the circumstances under which the

person was taken into custody and the reasons therefor.

   3.  [For the purposes of] As used in subsection 1, “an accredited agent

of the department” means any person appointed or designated by the

director of the department to take into custody and transport to a mental

health facility pursuant to subsections 1 and 2 those persons in need of

emergency admission.

   4.  Any person who has reason to believe that another person is

mentally ill may apply to the district attorney of the county where the

allegedly mentally ill person is found, and the district attorney may, if

satisfied that as a result of mental illness the person is likely to harm

himself or others:

   (a) Issue an order to any peace officer for the immediate apprehension

of the person and his transportation to a public or private mental health

facility; and

   (b) [Make application] Apply for the admission of the person under the

emergency admission provisions of NRS 433A.150.

   5.  Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, each person

admitted to a public or private mental health facility or hospital under an

emergency admission must be evaluated at the time of admission by a

psychiatrist or a psychologist. If a psychiatrist or a psychologist is not

available to conduct an evaluation at the time of admission, a physician

may conduct the evaluation. Each such emergency admission must be

approved by a psychiatrist.

   Sec. 2.  NRS 433A.165 is hereby amended to read as follows:

   433A.165  1.  Before an allegedly mentally ill person may be

transported to a public or private mental health facility pursuant to NRS

433A.160, he must:

   (a) First be examined by a licensed physician or physician’s assistant

or an advanced practitioner of nursing to determine whether the person

has a medical problem, other than a psychiatric problem, which requires

immediate treatment; and

   (b) If such treatment is required, be admitted to a hospital for the

appropriate medical care.

   2.  The cost of the examination must be paid by the county in which the

allegedly mentally ill person resides if services are provided at a county

hospital located in that county or a hospital designated by that county,

unless the cost is voluntarily paid by the allegedly mentally ill person or on

his behalf, by his insurer or by a state or federal program of medical

assistance.

   3.  The county may recover all or any part of the expenses paid by it, in

a civil action against:

   (a) The person whose expenses were paid;

   (b) The estate of that person; or

   (c) A responsible relative as prescribed in NRS 433A.610, to the extent

that financial ability is found to exist.

   4.  The cost of treatment, including hospitalization, for an indigent

must be paid pursuant to NRS 428.010 by the county in which the

allegedly mentally ill person resides.

   Sec. 3.  NRS 433A.330 is hereby amended to read as follows:

   433A.330  1.  When any involuntary court admission is ordered under

the provisions of this chapter, the involuntarily admitted person, together

with the court orders and certificates of the physicians, certified

psychologists or evaluation team and a full and complete transcript of the

notes of the official reporter made at the examination of such person before

the court, [shall] must be delivered to the sheriff of the county who shall

[convey] :

   (a) Transport the person ; or

   (b) Arrange for the person to be transported by:

     (1) A system for the nonemergency medical transportation of

persons whose operation is authorized by the transportation services

authority; or

     (2) If medically necessary, an ambulance service that holds a

permit issued pursuant to the provisions of chapter 450B of NRS,

to the appropriate public or private mental health facility.

   2.  No mentally ill person may be [conveyed] transported to the mental

health facility without at least one attendant of the same sex or a relative in

the first degree of consanguinity or affinity being in attendance.

 

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