ORS 426.234: Duties of professionals at facility where person admitted; notification; duties of court.

(1) At the time a person alleged to have a mental illness is admitted to or retained in a hospital or nonhospital facility under ORS 426.232 or 426.233, a licensed independent practitioner, nurse or qualified mental health professional at the hospital or nonhospital facility shall: (a) Inform the person of the person’s right to representation by or appointment of counsel as described in ORS 426.100; (b) Give the person the warning under ORS 426.123; (c) Immediately examine the person; (d) Set forth, in writing, the condition of the person and the need for emergency care or treatment; and (e) If the licensed independent practitioner, nurse or qualified mental health professional reasonably suspects that the person is a foreign national, inform the person of the person’s right to communicate with an official from the consulate of the person’s country. A licensed independent practitioner, nurse or qualified mental health professional is not civilly or criminally liable for failure to provide the information required by this paragraph. Failure to provide the information required by this paragraph does not in itself constitute grounds for the exclusion of evidence that would otherwise be admissible in a proceeding. (2)(a) At the time the person is admitted to or retained in a hospital under ORS 426.232, the licensed independent practitioner shall contact the community mental health program director of the county in which the person resides, if the county of residence is different from the county in which the hospital is located. The community mental health program director may request that the licensed independent practitioner notify the circuit court in the county in which the person resides. If the community mental health program director does not make the request, the licensed independent practitioner shall notify, immediately and in writing, the circuit court in the county in which the person is hospitalized. (b) At the time the person is admitted to a hospital under ORS 426.232 after being brought to the hospital by a peace officer under ORS 426.228, the licensed independent practitioner shall contact the community mental health program director of the county in which the person is hospitalized. The community mental health program director of the county in which the person is hospitalized may request that the licensed independent practitioner notify the circuit court in the county in which the person is hospitalized. If the community mental health program director does not make the request, the licensed independent practitioner shall notify, immediately and in writing, the circuit court in the county in which the person was taken into custody. (c) If, at any time prior to the hearing under ORS 426.070 to 426.170, the licensed independent practitioner responsible for a person admitted or retained under ORS 426.232 determines that the person is not a danger to self or others and is not in need of emergency care or treatment for mental illness, the licensed independent practitioner may release the person from the detention authorized by ORS 426.232. The licensed independent practitioner shall immediately notify the circuit court notified under this subsection and the community mental health program director of the person’s release from detention. (3)(a) At the time the person is admitted to or retained in a nonhospital facility under ORS 426.233, the community mental health program director in the county where the person was taken into custody shall contact the community mental health program director of the county in which the person resides, if the county of residence is different from the county in which the person was taken into custody. The community mental health program director of the county in which the person resides may request that the community mental health program director of the county in which the person was taken into custody notify the circuit court in the county where the person resides. Otherwise, the community mental health program director of the county in which the person was taken into custody shall notify, immediately and in writing, the circuit court in the county in which the person was taken into custody. (b) If, at any time prior to the hearing under ORS 426.070 to 426.170, a community mental health program director, after consultation with a licensed independent practitioner, determines that a person admitted or retained under ORS 426.233 is not a danger to self or others and is not in need of immediate care, custody or treatment for mental illness, the community mental health program director may release the person from detention. The community mental health program director shall immediately notify the circuit court originally notified under paragraph (a) of this subsection of the person’s release from detention. (4) When the judge of the circuit court receives notice under subsection (2) or (3) of this section, the judge immediately shall commence proceedings under ORS 426.070 to 426.170. In a county having a population of 100,000 or more, and when feasible in a county with a lesser population, the community mental health program director or designee who directs the peace officer or other authorized individual to take a person into custody under ORS 426.233 may not also conduct the investigation as provided for under ORS 426.074. Except when a person is participating in diversion from commitment under ORS 426.077, a person may not be held under ORS 426.232 or 426.233 for more than five judicial days without a hearing being held under ORS 426.070 to 426.170. (5) When the judge of the circuit court receives notice under subsection (2)(c) or (3)(b) of this section that a person has been released, and unless the court receives the recommendation required by ORS 426.070 (4), the judge shall dismiss the case no later than 14 days after the date the person was initially detained. [1993 c.484 §6; 1995 c.201 §1; 1997 c.531 §6; 2001 c.481 §3; 2003 c.109 §4; 2009 c.595 §406; 2013 c.360 §42; 2015 c.461 §15; 2025 c.559 §31]