Section 9.37. Involuntary admission on certificate of a director of community services or his designee

* (a) The director of a hospital, upon application by  a  director  of
  community  services  or an examining physician duly designated by him or
  her, may receive and care for in such hospital as a patient  any  person
  who,  in  the  opinion  of  the  director  of  community services or the
  director's designee, has a mental illness for which immediate  inpatient
  care  and  treatment in a hospital is appropriate and which is likely to
  result in serious harm to himself or herself or others.
    The need for immediate hospitalization shall be confirmed by  a  staff
  physician  of the hospital prior to admission. Within seventy-two hours,
  excluding Sunday and holidays, after such admission, if such patient  is
  to  be  retained  for  care and treatment beyond such time and he or she
  does not agree to remain in such hospital as a  voluntary  patient,  the
  certificate  of  another  examining  physician  who  is  a member of the
  psychiatric staff of the  hospital  that  the  patient  is  in  need  of
  involuntary  care  and  treatment shall be filed with the hospital. From
  the time of his or her admission under this  section  the  retention  of
  such  patient  for care and treatment shall be subject to the provisions
  for  notice,  hearing,  review,  and  judicial  approval  of   continued
  retention  or  transfer and continued retention provided by this article
  for the admission and retention of involuntary patients, provided  that,
  for  the  purposes  of  such  provisions,  the  date of admission of the
  patient shall be deemed to be  the  date  when  the  patient  was  first
  received in the hospital under this section.
    * NB Effective until July 1, 2012
    * (a)  The  director  of a hospital, upon application by a director of
  community services or an examining physician duly designated by him, may
  receive and care for in such hospital as a patient any  person  who,  in
  the opinion of the director of community services or his designee, has a
  mental  illness  for  which  immediate inpatient care and treatment in a
  hospital is appropriate and which is likely to result in serious harm to
  himself or others; "likelihood of serious harm" shall mean:
    1. substantial risk of physical  harm  to  himself  as  manifested  by
  threats  of  or  attempts  at  suicide  or  serious bodily harm or other
  conduct demonstrating that he is dangerous to himself, or
    2. a substantial risk of physical harm to other persons as  manifested
  by  homicidal  or  other  violent behavior by which others are placed in
  reasonable fear or serious physical harm.
    The need for immediate hospitalization shall be confirmed by  a  staff
  physician  of the hospital prior to admission. Within seventy-two hours,
  excluding Sunday and holidays, after such admission, if such patient  is
  to  be  retained for care and treatment beyond such time and he does not
  agree to remain in such hospital as a voluntary patient, the certificate
  of another examining physician who is a member of the psychiatric  staff
  of  the  hospital  that  the  patient is in need of involuntary care and
  treatment shall be filed  with  the  hospital.  From  the  time  of  his
  admission  under this section the retention of such patient for care and
  treatment shall be  subject  to  the  provisions  for  notice,  hearing,
  review,  and  judicial  approval  of continued retention or transfer and
  continued retention provided by  this  article  for  the  admission  and
  retention  of  involuntary  patients, provided that, for the purposes of
  such provisions, the date of admission of the patient shall be deemed to
  be the date when the patient was first received in  the  hospital  under
  this section.
    * NB Effective July 1, 2012
    (b)  The  application  for  admission  of  a  patient pursuant to this
  section shall be based upon a personal  examination  by  a  director  of

  community  services or his designee. It shall be in writing and shall be
  filed with the director of such hospital at the time  of  the  patient's
  reception,  together  with  a  statement  in  a  form  prescribed by the
  commissioner giving such information as he may deem appropriate.
    (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (b) of this section,
  in  counties  with  a  population  of  less than two hundred thousand, a
  director of community services who is a licensed  psychologist  pursuant
  to  article  one  hundred fifty-three of the education law or a licensed
  clinical social worker pursuant to article one hundred fifty-four of the
  education law but who is not a physician may apply for the admission  of
  a  patient  pursuant  to this section without a medical examination by a
  designated  physician,  if  a  hospital  approved  by  the  commissioner
  pursuant  to  section  9.39 of this article is not located within thirty
  miles of the patient, and the director of community services has made  a
  reasonable  effort to locate a designated examining physician but such a
  designee is not immediately available  and  the  director  of  community
  services,  after personal observation of the person, reasonably believes
  that he may have a mental illness which is likely to result  in  serious
  harm  to  himself  or  others  and  inpatient care and treatment of such
  person in a hospital may be appropriate. In the event of an  application
  pursuant  to  this  subdivision,  a  physician of the receiving hospital
  shall examine the patient and shall not admit the patient unless  he  or
  she determines that the patient has a mental illness for which immediate
  inpatient  care  and treatment in a hospital is appropriate and which is
  likely to result in serious harm to himself or others. If the patient is
  admitted, the need for hospitalization shall  be  confirmed  by  another
  staff  physician  within  twenty-four  hours. An application pursuant to
  this subdivision shall be  in  writing  and  shall  be  filed  with  the
  director  of  such  hospital  at  the  time  of the patient's reception,
  together with a statement in  a  form  prescribed  by  the  commissioner
  giving  such  information  as  he  may  deem  appropriate,  including  a
  statement of the efforts made by the director of community  services  to
  locate  a  designated examining physician prior to making an application
  pursuant to this subdivision.
    (d) After signing the application, the director of community  services
  or  the  director's  designee  shall be authorized and empowered to take
  into custody, detain, transport, and provide temporary care for any such
  person. Upon the written request of  such  director  or  the  director's
  designee it shall be the duty of peace officers, when acting pursuant to
  their  special  duties,  or police officers who are members of the state
  police or of an authorized police department or force or of a  sheriff's
  department  to  take  into  custody  and  transport  any  such person as
  requested and directed by such director or designee.  Upon  the  written
  request  of  such director or designee, an ambulance service, as defined
  in subdivision two of section three thousand one of  the  public  health
  law, is authorized to transport any such person.
    (e)  Reasonable  expenses incurred by the director of community mental
  hygiene services or his designee for the examination and temporary  care
  of  the patient and his transportation to and from the hospital shall be
  a charge upon the county from which the patient was admitted  and  shall
  be paid from any funds available for such purposes.
    (f) The provisions of this section shall not be applicable to continue
  any  patient in a hospital who has already been admitted to the hospital
  under this or any other section of this article.
    (g) If a person is examined and determined to be mentally ill the fact
  that such person suffers from  alcohol  or  substance  abuse  shall  not
  preclude commitment under this section.