37.66.312    PARAMETERS FOR VOLUNTARY ADMISSION TO MONTANA STATE HOSPITAL

(1) Voluntary admissions to Montana state hospital will be appropriate only when Montana state hospital is the least restrictive and most appropriate placement available.

(2) Montana state hospital will be considered the least restrictive and most appropriate placement for an individual who:

(a) is violent and assaultive as a result of mental illness and is unable to be served in local inpatient facilities;

(b) is so suicidal as to require 1:1 attention over extended periods of time and is unable to be served in mental health center programs or local inpatient facilities;

(c) is so disorganized by mental illness that the individual is unable to appropriately care for a medical condition other than mental illness, which places the individual in a life threatening situation; or

(d) is suffering from an acute exacerbation of mental illness which renders the individual unable, even with intensive supports, to maintain a level of functioning which is sufficiently high so as to allow the individual to remain in the community, and which would predictably require more than 14 days of inpatient care to stabilize.

(3) All community options including but not limited to case management, crisis response and local inpatient care must be considered and ruled out before an admission to Montana state hospital can be deemed appropriate.

(4) Symptoms or behavior related to or resulting from certain conditions, including but not limited to mental retardation, traumatic brain injury and alcohol/drug dependency shall not alone constitute the basis for a voluntary admission to Montana state hospital.

History: Sec. 53-21-111, MCA; IMP, Sec. 53-21-111, MCA; NEW, 1992 MAR p. 1483, Eff. 7/17/92; TRANS, from DOC, 1998 MAR p. 1505.