Section 637 – Release of patient to receive other treatment — Placement in more restrictive environment — Procedures.

• (1) A local mental health authority or a designee of a local mental health authority may conditionally release an improved patient to less restrictive treatment when:
  • (a) the authority specifies the less restrictive treatment; and
  • (b) the patient agrees in writing to the less restrictive treatment.

• (2)
  • (a) Whenever a local mental health authority or a designee of a local mental health authority determines that the conditions justifying commitment no longer exist, the local mental health authority or the designee shall discharge the patient.
  • (b) If the discharged patient has been committed through judicial proceedings, the local mental health authority or the designee shall prepare a report describing the determination and shall send the report to the clerk of the court where the proceedings were held.

• (3)
  • (a) A local mental health authority or a designee of a local mental health authority is authorized to issue an order for the immediate placement of a current patient into a more restrictive environment, if:
    • (i) the local mental health authority or a designee of a local mental health authority has reason to believe that the patient’s current environment is aggravating the patient’s mental illness; or
    • (ii) the patient has failed to comply with the specified treatment plan to which the patient agreed in writing.
  • (b) An order for a more restrictive environment shall:
    • (i) state the reasons for the order;
    • (ii) authorize any peace officer to take the patient into physical custody and transport the patient to a facility designated by the local mental health authority;
    • (iii) inform the patient of the right to a hearing, the right to appointed counsel, and the other procedures described in Subsection 62A-15-631(14); and
    • (iv) prior to or upon admission to the more restrictive environment, or upon imposition of additional or different requirements as conditions for continued conditional release from inpatient care, copies of the order shall be delivered to:
      • (A) the patient;
      • (B) the person in whose care the patient is placed;
      • (C) the patient’s counsel of record; and
      • (D) the court that entered the original order of commitment.
  • (c) If the patient was in a less restrictive environment for more than 30 days and is aggrieved by the change to a more restrictive environment, the patient or the patient’s representative may request a hearing within 30 days of the change. Upon receiving the request, the court shall immediately appoint two designated examiners and proceed pursuant to Section 62A-15-631, with the exception of Subsection 62A-15-631(16), unless, by the time set for the hearing, the patient is returned to the less restrictive environment or the patient withdraws the request for a hearing, in writing.
  • (d) The court shall:
    • (i) make findings regarding whether the conditions described in Subsections (3)(a) and (b) were met and whether the patient is in the least restrictive environment that is appropriate for the patient’s needs; and
    • (ii) designate, by order, the environment for the patient’s care and the period for which the patient shall be treated, which may not extend beyond expiration of the original order of commitment.

• (4) Nothing contained in this section prevents a local mental health authority or its designee, pursuant to Section 62A-15-636, from discharging a patient from commitment or from placing a patient in an environment that is less restrictive than that ordered by the court.

Amended by Chapter 419, 2019 General Session