Iowa Code § 218.92 (2026)

When a resident of an institution has become so mentally disturbed as to constitute a danger to self, to other residents or staff of the institution, or to the public, and the institution cannot provide adequate security, the director or the director’s designee, with the consent of the director of the Iowa department of corrections, may order the resident to be transferred to the Iowa medical and classification center, if the superintendent of the institution from which the resident is to be transferred, with the support of a majority of the medical staff, recommends the transfer in the interest of the resident, other residents, or the public. If the resident transferred was hospitalized pursuant to sections 229.6 through 229.15, the transfer shall be promptly reported to the court that ordered the hospitalization of the resident, as required by section 229.15, subsection 5. The Iowa medical and classification center has the same rights, duties, and responsibilities with respect to the resident as the institution from which the resident was transferred had while hospitalized in the institution. The cost of the transfer shall be paid from the funds of the institution from which the transfer is made. [C62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §218.92; 82 Acts, ch 1100, §5] 83 Acts, ch 96, §69, 159; 89 Acts, ch 83, §34; 94 Acts, ch 1170, §33; 96 Acts, ch 1129, §113; 2000 Acts, ch 1112, §29, 51; 2012 Acts, ch 1019, §21; 2021 Acts, ch 80, §111; 2023 Acts, ch 19, §409 Transfer of dangerous patients, see §226.30