Title 18, Health

§ 7408. Electroconvulsive therapy The Commissioner shall oversee the use of electroconvulsive therapy in Vermont and may adopt rules to govern the practice of electroconvulsive therapy. The Commissioner’s duties shall include: (1) establishment of a uniform informed consent proce…

§ 7501. Authority to receive patients The head of a hospital that has been officially designated by the Commissioner may receive therein for observation, diagnosis, care, and treatment any individual whose admission is sought on proper application. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess…

§ 7502. Control and treatment of patients A person admitted to a hospital shall be subject to the control and treatment of the head of the hospital and the Board until his or her condition warrants his or her release, or until he or she has been lawfully removed or otherwise disc…

§ 7503. Application for voluntary admission (a) Any person 14 years of age or over may apply for voluntary admission to a designated hospital or psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth for examination and treatment. (b) Before the person may be admitted as a voluntar…

§ 7504. Application and certificate for emergency examination (a) Upon written application by an interested party made under the pains and penalties of perjury and accompanied by a certificate by a licensed physician who is not the applicant, a person shall be held for admission …

§ 7505. Warrant and certificate for emergency examination (a) In emergency circumstances where certification by a licensed physician is not available without serious and unreasonable delay, and when personal observation of the conduct of a person constitutes reasonable grounds to…

§ 7508. Emergency examination and second certification (a) When an initial certification is issued for an emergency examination of a person in accordance with section 7504 or subsection 7505(e) of this title, he or she shall be examined and certified by a psychiatrist as soon as …

§ 7509. Treatment; right of access (a) Upon admission to a hospital, secure residential recovery facility, or psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth pursuant to section 7503, 7508, 7617, or 7624 of this title, the person shall be treated with dignity and respect and…

§ 7510. Preliminary hearing (a) Within five days after a person is admitted to a designated hospital for emergency examination, he or she may request the Superior Court to conduct a preliminary hearing to determine whether there is probable cause to believe that he or she was a p…

§ 7511. Transportation (a) The Commissioner shall ensure that all reasonable and appropriate measures consistent with public safety are made to transport or escort a person subject to this chapter to and from any hospital, secure residential recovery facility, or psychiatric resi…

§ 7611. Involuntary treatment No person may be made subject to involuntary treatment unless he or she is found to be a person in need of treatment or a patient in need of further treatment. (Added 1977, No. 252 (Adj. Sess.), § 18.)

§ 7612. Application for involuntary treatment (a) An interested party may, by filing a written application, commence proceedings for the involuntary treatment of an individual by judicial process. (b) The application shall be filed in the Family Division of the Superior Court. (c…

§ 7612a. Probable cause review (a) Within three days after an application for involuntary treatment is filed, the Family Division of the Superior Court shall conduct a review to determine whether there is probable cause to believe that the person was a person in need of treatment…

§ 7613. Notice—appointment of counsel (a) When the application is filed, the court shall appoint counsel for the proposed patient and transmit a copy of the application, the physician’s certificate, if any, and a notice of hearing to the proposed patient; his or her attorney, gua…

§ 7614. Psychiatric examination As soon as practicable after notice of the commencement of proceedings is given, the court on its own motion or upon the motion of the proposed patient or his or her attorney or the State of Vermont shall authorize examination of the proposed patie…

§ 7615. Hearing on application for involuntary treatment (a)(1) Upon receipt of the application, the court shall set a date for the hearing to be held within 10 days from the date of the receipt of the application or 20 days from the date of the receipt of the application if a ps…

§ 7616. Appearance by State; burden of proof (a) The State shall appear and be represented by the State’s Attorney for the county in which the hearing takes place or by the Attorney General at his or her discretion. (b) The State shall have the burden of proving its case by clear…

§ 7617. Findings; order (a) If the court finds that the proposed patient was not a person in need of treatment at the time of admission or application or is not a patient in need of further treatment at the time of the hearing, the court shall enter a finding to that effect and s…

§ 7617a. Reporting; National Instant Criminal Background Check System (a) If the court issues a hospitalization order pursuant to subdivision 7617(b)(1) or (2) of this title or a nonhospitalization order pursuant to subdivision 7617(b)(3), the Court Administrator shall within 48 …

§ 7618. Order; nonhospitalization (a) If the court finds that a treatment program other than hospitalization is adequate to meet the person’s treatment needs, the court shall order the person to receive whatever treatment other than hospitalization is appropriate for a period of …

§ 7619. Order; hospitalization An initial order of hospitalization shall be for a period of 90 days from the date of the hearing. (Added 1977, No. 252 (Adj. Sess.), § 26.)

§ 7620. Application for continued treatment (a) If, prior to the expiration of any order issued in accordance with section 7623 of this title, the Commissioner believes that the condition of the patient is such that the patient continues to require treatment, the Commissioner sha…

§ 7621. Hearing on application for continued treatment; orders (a) The hearing on the application for continued treatment shall be held in accordance with the procedures set forth in sections 7613, 7614, 7615, and 7616 of this title. (b) If the court finds that the patient is a p…

§ 7622. Expert testimony (a) A mental health professional testifying at hearings conducted under this part may, if appropriately qualified, give opinion testimony and, notwithstanding 12 V.S.A. § 1612, describe any information that he or she acquired in attending the patient. (b)…

§ 7623. Orders; custody All court orders of hospitalization, nonhospitalization, and continued treatment shall be directed to the Commissioner and shall admit the patient to his or her care and custody for the period specified. (Added 1977, No. 252 (Adj. Sess.), § 30.)

§ 7624. Application for involuntary medication (a) The Commissioner may commence an action for the involuntary medication of a person who is refusing to accept psychiatric medication and meets any one of the following conditions: (1) has been placed in the Commissioner’s care and…

§ 7625. Hearing on application for involuntary medication; burden of proof (a) Unless consolidated with an application for involuntary treatment pursuant to subdivision 7624(b)(2) or (b)(4) of this title, a hearing on an application for involuntary medication shall be held within…

§ 7626. Advance directive (a) If a person who is the subject of an application filed under section 7624 of this title has executed an advance directive in accordance with the provisions of chapter 231 of this title, the court shall suspend the hearing and enter an order pursuant …

§ 7627. Court findings; orders (a) The court shall issue an order regarding all possible findings pursuant to this section, and for persons subject to an application pursuant to subdivision 7624(a)(3) of this title, the court shall first find that the person is a person in need o…

§ 7628. Protocol The Department of Mental Health shall develop and adopt by rule a strict protocol to ensure the health, safety, dignity, and respect of patients subject to administration of involuntary psychiatric medications in any designated hospital or secure residential reco…

§ 7629. Legislative intent (a) It is the intention of the General Assembly to recognize the right of a legally competent person to determine whether or not to accept medical treatment absent an emergency or a determination that the person is incompetent and lacks the ability to m…

§ 7701. Notice of rights A hospital, secure residential recovery facility, and psychiatric residential treatment facility for youth shall provide reasonable means and arrangements, including the posting of excerpts from relevant statutes, for informing patients of their right to …

§ 7703. Treatment (a) Outpatient treatment or partial hospitalization shall be preferred to inpatient treatment. Emergency involuntary treatment shall be undertaken only when clearly necessary. Involuntary treatment shall be utilized only if voluntary treatment is not possible. (…

§ 7704. Mechanical restraints Mechanical restraints shall not be applied to a patient unless it is determined by the head of the hospital or the head of the hospital’s designee to be required by the medical needs of the patient or the hospital. Every use of a mechanical restraint…

§ 7705. Communication and visitation (a) Subject to the general rules and regulations of the hospital and except to the extent that the head of the hospital determines that it is necessary for the medical welfare or needs of the patient or the hospital to impose restrictions, eve…

§ 7706. Legal competence No determination that a person requires treatment and no order of the court authorizing hospitalization or alternative treatment shall lead to a presumption of legal incompetence for matters other than treatment. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, ef…

§ 7707. Record of restrictions Any limitation imposed by the head of a hospital on the exercise of civil rights by a patient and the reasons for the limitation shall be made a part of the clinical record of the patient. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1968.)

§ 7708. Surgical operations If the superintendent finds that a patient supported by the State requires a surgical operation or that a surgical operation would promote the possibility of his or her discharge from the hospital, the superintendent, with the consent of the patient, h…

§ 7709. Change from involuntary to voluntary At any time, a patient may, with the permission of the head of the hospital, have his or her status changed from involuntary to voluntary upon making application as provided in section 7503 of this title. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Ses…

§ 7710. Visits by clergy or attorney A patient’s clergy or an attorney at law retained by or on behalf of any patient or appointed for him or her by any court shall be admitted to visit at all reasonable times. (Added 1967, No. 305 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1968.)

§ 7801. Application for discharge (a) A patient who has been ordered hospitalized may apply for discharge to the Criminal Division of the Superior Court within which the hospital is located. A patient who has been ordered to receive treatment other than hospitalization may apply …

§ 7802. Administrative review The head of the hospital and the Board shall cause the condition of every patient to be reviewed as regularly as practicable, but not less often than every six months, and whenever the head of a hospital or the Board certifies that the patient is not…

§ 7901. Intrastate transfers The Commissioner may authorize the transfer of patients between the Vermont State Hospital or its successor in interest and designated hospitals if the Commissioner determines that it would be consistent with the medical needs of the patient to do so.…

§ 7902. Interstate transfers (a) The transfer of nonresident patients to out-of-state facilities shall be governed by the Interstate Compact on Mental Health. (b) The transfer of nonresident patients from an out-of-state institution or hospital to a hospital in Vermont for the pu…

§ 7903. Transfers to federal facilities Upon receipt of a certificate from an agency of the United States that accommodations are available for the care of any individual hospitalized under this part of this title, and that the individual is eligible for care or treatment in a ho…

§ 8003. Personal needs of patient The Commissioner shall make any necessary arrangements to ensure: (1) that no patient is discharged or granted a conditional release from a hospital without suitable clothing; and (2) that any indigent patient discharged or granted a conditional …