§27-4-4. Admission and treatment of voluntary patients; statement
of rights; consent for treatment.
(a) No person shall be admitted as an inpatient into a
mental health facility as a voluntary patient until such person
has been told and has received a written statement containing in
bold print a statement that once he voluntarily admits himself
into such facility, his release may not be voluntary, that the
facility may seek to involuntarily commit him and may hold him
against his will for thirty days pending a hearing and
indefinitely after the hearing if he is committed, and that such
statement shall inform the individual that he may request release
at any time. Further, the individual shall be advised in writing
of his rights upon admission as an inpatient to a mental health
facility, including, but not limited to, those rights afforded
pursuant to section nine, article five of this chapter. A copy
of the statement shall be filed in the individual's permanent
records and shall contain the name of the person who made the
oral and written disclosure.
(b) No voluntary inpatient shall be subjected to any course
of treatment without such patient's written consent. Such
consent shall be revocable at any time and shall not be valid for
a period exceeding six months.
(c) One person in every mental health facility shall be
designated as the voluntary patient coordinator. Such
coordinator, or his designee while the coordinator is not on
duty, shall be responsible for the disclosures required by this
section and for any and all discussions with voluntary patients relative to release.