OAR 309-033-0430: Transportation of a Person under Civil Commitment to a State Hospital, Community Hospital or Nonhospital Facility

(1) Transportation of a person under civil commitment to a state hospital, community hospital or nonhospital facility. The director of the county of commitment shall arrange for the transportation of persons under civil commitment to the hospital or nonhospital facility: (a) Only persons under civil commitment who have received prior approval for admission by the superintendent may be transported to a state hospital; (b) A guardian, friend or relative may transport the person under civil commitment to the designated facility if all of the following are met: (A) The guardian, friend, or relative requests to transport the person to the designated facility prior to or at the time of the civil commitment hearing; (B) The committing judge at the civil commitment hearing determines that the means of transportation would not be detrimental to the welfare of the person with mental illness or to the public. (2) Medically unstable persons under civil commitment. The costs of providing care, custody, and treatment for a person under civil commitment who is unable to be transported or cannot be admitted to a state hospital because of medical necessity shall be paid by the county of residence from funds provided to it by the Division for the provision of mental health services. The hospital or other facility shall charge to and collect from the county of residence only after the hospital or other facility has charged to and collected from the person, third party payers or agencies otherwise legally responsible for the costs of emergency care, custody, and treatment, as it would for any other patient. (3) Transfer of a person under civil commitment to another hospital. The administrator of a facility providing care, custody, and treatment to a person under civil commitment may transfer the person only with the recommendation of the director of the county of residence and the approval of the administrator of the receiving facility. (4) Transfer of a person under civil commitment to voluntary status or discharge for civil commitment. The superintendent of a state hospital, on his/her own initiative or on the request of the person under civil commitment, shall transfer the person to voluntary status if the superintendent believes with reasonable medical certainty that the person will pursue voluntary treatment. The superintendent of a state hospital may discharge the person from civil commitment when the person is no longer a person with mental illness as defined in ORS 426.005. (a) The administrator of a community hospital or nonhospital facility, other than a state hospital, providing care, custody, and treatment for the person under civil commitment, in consultation with the director, may transfer the person to voluntary status or discharge the person from civil commitment; (b) When a person is transferred to voluntary status, the superintendent or administrator shall notify the director and the court of the county of current commitment of such action within 72 hours; (c) Any person under civil commitment transferred to voluntary status shall be discharged from the treating facility, at the request of the person or the person’s legal guardian, within 72 hours of the request unless the person meets the criteria for prehearing custody and is placed in custody, thus initiating the civil commitment process. (5) Grievance of transfer. The director and the superintendent shall have written procedures for resolving grievances about the transfer of persons under civil commitment from one facility to another. The director or the superintendent shall suspend the transfer of the person until the grievance procedure is completed, unless immediate transfer is necessary for health or safety, upon the written or verbal protest of one of the following persons: (a) The person being transferred; (b) The legal guardian of the person being transferred.