ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 344
(By Senators Kessler and Minard)
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[Passed April 11, 2009; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT to amend and reenact §27-7-4 of the Code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to authorizing mental hygiene
commissioners to sign readmission orders.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §27-7-4 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 7. RELEASE, DISCHARGE AND READMISSION OF PATIENTS;
ESCAPEES.
§27-7-4. Readmission of patients.
While any involuntary patient is out of the mental health
facility under the provisions of section two or three of this
article, he or she may be readmitted to the mental health facility
on the basis of the original commitment. If there is reason to
believe that it is in the best interest of the patient to be
hospitalized, the chief medical officer of the mental health
facility may issue a sworn notice for the immediate readmission of the patient, which notice shall contain facts concerning the
original commitment and the current condition of the patient. This
notice shall be sent to the clerk of the circuit court which
ordered his or her admission, to the clerk of the circuit court of
the county of the patient's residence, to the circuit court or
mental hygiene commissioner of the county in which the patient may
be found and to the patient at the location where the patient may
be found. Upon receipt of such notice, the circuit court or mental
hygiene commissioner may, if satisfied that the condition of the
patient warrants his or her return, authorize any health officer or
police officer to take the patient into custody and transport him
or her to the mental health facility where the notice originated.
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