Virginia Code 37.2-823: Examination of admission papers by director; examination of persons admitted
A. Upon the receipt of any order for admission of any person, the director of the facility shall immediately examine the admission papers and, if they are found to be in substantial compliance with the law, he shall forthwith admit the person to the facility.
Terms Used In Virginia Code 37.2-823
- Board: means the State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. See Virginia Code 37.2-100
- Facility: means a state or licensed hospital, training center, psychiatric hospital, or other type of residential or outpatient mental health or developmental services facility. See Virginia Code 37.2-100
- Locality: means a county, city, or town as the context may require. See Virginia Code 1-221
- Mental illness: means a disorder of thought, mood, emotion, perception, or orientation that significantly impairs judgment, behavior, capacity to recognize reality, or ability to address basic life necessities and requires care and treatment for the health, safety, or recovery of the individual or for the safety of others. See Virginia Code 37.2-100
- Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
- State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
B. Any person presented for admission to a facility shall be examined within 24 hours after arrival by one or more of the physicians on the facility’s staff. If the examination reveals that there is sufficient cause to believe that the person has mental illness, he shall be retained at the facility; but if the examination reveals insufficient cause, the person shall be returned to the locality in which the petition was initiated or in which the person resides.
C. The Board shall adopt regulations to institute preadmission screening to prevent inappropriate admissions to state facilities.
Code 1950, §§ 37-86.2, 37-90; 1950, pp. 908, 910; 1968, c. 477, §§ 37.1-68, 37.1-70; 1970, c. 673; 1972, c. 639; 1976, c. 671; 1980, c. 582; 2005, c. 716.