O.C.G.A.

O.C.G.A. § 37-3-20 (2019)

Admission of voluntary patients; consent of parent or guardian to treatment; giving notice of rights to patient at time of admission

✓ O.C.G.A. — 2019 edition (Public.Resource.Org Release 73)

Code text and O.C.G.A. statutory annotations on this page reflect the 2019 Official Code of Georgia Annotated (Public.Resource.Org Release 73, 2019-08-21; public domain per Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). The Syfert case-law annotations in Notes of Decisions, below, are current.

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(a) The chief medical officer of any facility may receive for observation and diagnosis any patient 12 years of age or older making application therefor, any patient under 18 years of age for whom such application is made by his parent or guardian, and any patient who has been declared legally incompetent and for whom such application is made by his guardian. If found to show evidence of mental illness and to be suitable for treatment, such person may be given care and treatment at such facility; and such person may be detained by such facility until discharged pursuant to Code Section 37-3-21 or 37-3-22. The parents or guardian of a minor child must give written consent to such treatment. An individualized service plan shall be developed for such person as soon as possible. (b) Any individual voluntarily admitted to a facility under this Code section shall be given notice of his rights under this chapter at the time of his admission.

History

Ga. L. 1952, p. 94, § 1; Ga. L. 1958, p. 697, § 2; Ga. L. 1960, p. 837, § 2; Code 1933, § 88-502, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, p. 499, § 1; Code 1933, § 88-503.1, enacted by Ga. L. 1969, p. 505, § 1; Ga. L. 1978, p. 1789, § 1.

Annotations

Law reviews. - For article comparing hospitalization of mentally ill under Code 1933, Ch. 49-6, to present procedures under this chapter, see 23 Ga. B.J. 191 (1960). For article recommending more consistency in age requirements of laws pertaining to the welfare of minors, see 6 Ga. St. B.J. 189 (1969). For annual survey of law on trial practice and procedure, see 62 Mercer L. Rev. 339 (2010).

For note comparing procedures for hospitalization of the mentally ill in Georgia to other jurisdictions and suggesting improvements, see 7 Mercer L. Rev. 361 (1956). For note, ‘‘Due Process Rights of Minors and Parental Authority in Civil Commitment Cases,’’ see 31 Mercer L. Rev. 617 (1980). For comment on Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 584, 99 S. Ct. 2493, 61 L. Ed. 2d 101 (1979); Secretary of Pub. Welfare v. Institutionalized Juveniles, 442 U.S. 640, 99 S. Ct. 2523, 61 L. Ed. 2d 142 (1979), regarding juvenile commitment to state mental hospitals upon application of parents or guardians, see 29 Emory L.J. 517 (1980).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS Constitutionality. - State’s procedures for admitting a child for treatment to a state mental hospital are consistent with constitutional guarantees. Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 584, 99 S. Ct. 2493, 61 L.

Ed. 2d 101 (1979), for comment, see 29 Emory L.J. 517 (1980). Responsibility for regulations on procedures governing admitting minors. - Georgia’s mental health director

has not published any state-wide regulations defining what specific procedures each superintendent must employ when admitting a child under 18. Each regional hospital’s superintendent is responsible for the procedures in his or her facility. Parham v. J.R., 442 U.S. 584, 99 S. Ct. 2493, 61 L. Ed. 2d 101 (1979), for comment, see 29 Emory L.J. 517 (1980). In order to assert the affirmative defense of immunity from liability for good faith compliance with the statutory

procedures for holding a voluntary patient after request for discharge, it was first necessary to show plaintiff was, in fact, a voluntary patient as defined by statute. Heath v. Emory Univ. Hosp., 208 Ga. App. 629, 431 S.E.2d 427 (1993). Cited in J.L. v. Parham, 412 F. Supp. 112 (M.D. Ga. 1976); Heath v. Peachtree Parkwood Hosp., 200 Ga. App. 118, 407 S.E.2d 406 (1991); Heichelbech v. Evans, 798 F. Supp. 708 (M.D. Ga. 1992).

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Prerequisites to admitting mentally retarded minor. - Pursuant to former Code 1933, § 24A-2891 (see O.C.G.A. § 15-11-40), a mentally retarded child may not properly be committed to the Department of Human Resources unless the department first advises the court that the department has appropriate facilities available to serve that particular

child; similarly, a mentally ill child may not be committed unless the child is in need of hospitalization because the child is likely to injure oneself or others if not hospitalized or because, due to one’s mental illness, one is incapable of caring for one’s physical health and safety. 1976 Op. Att’y Gen. No. 76-111.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 7 cases, 1991–2009 · leading case: Purcell v. Breese, 552 S.E.2d 865 (Ga. Ct. App. 2001).

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Purcell v. Breese, 552 S.E.2d 865 (Ga. Ct. App. 2001). · cites it 4× “13 *477 Jonathan was admitted to Kennestone under OCGA § 37-3-20 (a), which provides that [t]he chief medical officer of any facility may receive for observation and diagnosis any patient 12 years of age or older making application therefor, any patient under 18 years of age for…”

Heath v. Peachtree Parkwood Hosp., Inc., 407 S.E.2d 406 (Ga. Ct. App. 1991). · cites it 6× “However, these appellees introduced no evidence that their detention of appellant during that period was either pursuant to an application for voluntary admission as a psychiatric patient secured from her in compliance with *119 OCGA § 37-3-20 et seq. or pursuant to valid…”

Heath v. Emory Univ. Hosp., 431 S.E.2d 427 (Ga. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 8× “Defendants argue the trial court erred by twice charging the jury that defendants had the burden of proving plaintiff was a voluntary patient within the meaning of OCGA § 37-3-20 et seq. and they were thus immune from liability because they acted in good faith compliance with…”

Etheridge v. Charter Peachford Hosp., Inc., 436 S.E.2d 669 (Ga. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 9× “The applicable law is OCGA § 37-3-20 et seq. (treatment for mental illness of voluntary patients).”

Krachman v. Ridgeview Inst., Inc., 687 S.E.2d 627 (Ga. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “Krachman concedes that she was lawfully admitted to Ridgeview as a voluntary patient pursuant to OCGA § 37-3-20 (a), but contends that she was unlawfully detained after Ridgeview staff members failed to adhere to the discharge procedures in OCGA § 37-3-22 (a).”

Hightower Ex Rel. Dehler v. Olmstead, 959 F. Supp. 1549 (N.D. Ga. 1996). · cites it 2× “O.C.G.A. §§ 37-3-20 & —21. A patient in a facility has the right to “receive care and treatment that is suited to his needs and is the least restrictive appropriate care and treatment.”

Heichelbech v. Evans, 798 F. Supp. 708 (M.D. Ga. 1992). · cites it 4× “…consents to the transfer, and the patient demonstrates some evidence of mental illness and is suitable for treatment. O.C.G.A. § 37-3-20.”

— 37-3-20(a) — 1 case

Purcell v. Breese, 552 S.E.2d 865 (Ga. Ct. App. 2001). “13 *477 Jonathan was admitted to Kennestone under OCGA § 37-3-20 (a), which provides that [t]he chief medical officer of any facility may receive for observation and diagnosis any patient 12 years of age or older making application therefor, any patient under 18 years of age for…”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.