N.Y. Mental Hyg. Law § 9.27

§ 9.27 Involuntary admission on medical certification.\n (a) The director of a hospital may receive and retain therein as a\npatient any person alleged to be mentally ill and in need of involuntary\ncare and treatment upon the certificates of two examining physicians, or\nupon the certificates of an examining physician and a psychiatric nurse\npractitioner. Such certificates shall be accompanied by an application\nfor the admission of such person. The examination may be conducted\njointly but each certifying practitioner shall execute a separate\ncertificate.\n (b) Such application must have been executed within ten days prior to\nsuch admission. It may be executed by any one of the following:\n 1. any person with whom the person alleged to be mentally ill resides.\n 2. the father or mother, husband or wife, brother or sister, or the\nchild of any such person or the nearest available relative.\n 3. the committee of such person.\n 4. an officer of any public or well recognized charitable institution\nor agency or home, including but not limited to the superintendent of a\ncorrectional facility, as such term is defined in paragraph (a) of\nsubdivision four of section two of the correction law, in whose\ninstitution the person alleged to be mentally ill resides and the\ndesignee authorized by the commissioner of the department of corrections\nand community supervision responsible for community supervision in the\nregion where such person alleged to be mentally ill has been released to\nany form of supervision following incarceration.\n 5. the director of community services or social services official, as\ndefined in the social services law, of the city or county in which any\nsuch person may be.\n 6. the director of the hospital or of a general hospital, as defined\nin article twenty-eight of the public health law, in which the patient\nis hospitalized.\n 7. the director or person in charge of a facility providing care to\nalcoholics, or substance abusers or substance dependent persons.\n 8. the director of the division for youth, acting in accordance with\nthe provisions of section five hundred nine of the executive law.\n 9. subject to the terms of any court order or any instrument executed\npursuant to section three hundred eighty-four-a of the social services\nlaw, a social services official or authorized agency which has, pursuant\nto the social services law, care and custody or guardianship and custody\nof a child over the age of sixteen.\n 10. subject to the terms of any court order a person or entity having\ncustody of a child pursuant to an order issued pursuant to section seven\nhundred fifty-six or one thousand fifty-five of the family court act.\n 11. a qualified psychiatrist who is either supervising the treatment\nof or treating such person for a mental illness in a facility licensed\nor operated by the office of mental health.\n (c) Such application shall contain a statement of the facts upon which\nthe allegation of mental illness and need for care and treatment are\nbased and shall be executed under penalty of perjury but shall not\nrequire the signature of a notary public thereon.\n (d) Before an examining physician or psychiatric nurse practitioner\ncompletes the certificate of examination of a person for involuntary\ncare and treatment, they shall consider alternative forms of care and\ntreatment that might be adequate to provide for the person's needs\nwithout requiring involuntary hospitalization. If the examining\nphysician or psychiatric nurse practitioner knows that the person they\nare examining for involuntary care and treatment has been under prior\ntreatment, they shall, insofar as possible, consult with the physician\nor psychologist furnishing such prior treatment prior to completing\ntheir certificate. Nothing in this section shall prohibit or invalidate\nany involuntary admission made in accordance with the provisions of this\nchapter.\n (e) The director of the hospital where such person is brought shall\ncause such person to be examined forthwith by a physician who shall be a\nmember of the psychiatric staff of such hospital other than the original\nexamining physicians or psychiatric nurse practitioner whose certificate\nor certificates accompanied the application and, if such person is found\nto be in need of involuntary care and treatment, they may be admitted\nthereto as a patient as herein provided.\n (f) Following admission to a hospital, no patient may be sent to\nanother hospital by any form of involuntary admission unless the mental\nhygiene legal service has been given notice thereof.\n (g) Applications for involuntary admission of patients to residential\ntreatment facilities for children and youth or transfer of involuntarily\nadmitted patients to such facilities may be reviewed by the office or\ncommissioner's designee serving such facility in accordance with section\n9.51 of this article and in consultation with the residential treatment\nfacility receiving an involuntary admission or transfer of an\ninvoluntarily admitted patient.\n (h) If a person is examined and determined to be mentally ill, the\nfact that such person suffers from alcohol or substance abuse shall not\npreclude commitment under this section.\n (i) After an application for the admission of a person has been\ncompleted and both certifying practitioners have examined such person\nand separately certified that such person is mentally ill and in need of\ninvoluntary care and treatment in a hospital, either certifying\npractitioner is authorized to request peace officers, when acting\npursuant to their special duties, or police officers, who are members of\nan authorized police department or force or of a sheriff's department,\nto take into custody and transport such person to a hospital for\ndetermination by the director whether such person qualifies for\nadmission pursuant to this section. Upon the request of either\ncertifying practitioner, an ambulance service, as defined by subdivision\ntwo of section three thousand one of the public health law, is\nauthorized to transport such person to a hospital for determination by\nthe director whether such person qualifies for admission pursuant to\nthis section.\n