HF 207 (LSB 1757YH (4) 91)

HOUSE FILE 207

BY  KRESSIG, BROWN-POWERS, GAINES, B. MEYER, GOSA, LEVIN, BAGNIEWSKI, WICHTENDAHL, CROKEN, WILBURN, AMOS JR., and KURTH

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to certain involuntary hospitalization reporting requirements.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 229.15, subsection 2, Code 2025, is amended to read as follows:
   2.  Not more than sixty days after the entry of a court order for treatment of a patient pursuant to a report issued under section 229.14, subsection 1, paragraph “c”, and thereafter at successive intervals as ordered by the court but not to exceed ninety days six months so long as that court order remains in effect, the medical director of the facility or the psychiatrist or psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner treating the patient shall report to the court which entered the order. The report shall state whether the patient’s condition has improved, remains unchanged, or has deteriorated, and shall indicate if possible the further length of time the patient will require treatment by the facility. If at any time the patient without good cause fails or refuses to submit to treatment as ordered by the court, the medical director shall at once so notify the court, which shall order the patient hospitalized as provided by section 229.14, subsection 2, paragraph “d”, unless the court finds that the failure or refusal was with good cause and that the patient is willing to receive treatment as provided in the court’s order, or in a revised order if the court sees fit to enter one. If at any time the medical director reports to the court that in the director’s opinion the patient requires full-time custody, care, and treatment in a hospital, and the patient is willing to be admitted voluntarily to the hospital for these purposes, the court may enter an order approving hospitalization for appropriate treatment upon consultation with the chief medical officer of the hospital in which the patient is to be hospitalized. If the patient is unwilling to be admitted voluntarily to the hospital, the procedure for determining involuntary hospitalization, as set out in section 229.14, subsection 2, paragraph “d”, shall be followed.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with

the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to certain involuntary hospitalization reporting requirements.
   After a person has been involuntarily committed for inpatient treatment due to a serious mental impairment, the medical director of the facility or the psychiatrist or psychiatric advanced registered nurse practitioner treating the patient must make a report to the court about the patient’s condition and how much longer the patient will require treatment by the facility. The initial report is due within 60 days of the entry of the order requiring treatment for the involuntarily committed person, and follow-up reports are due in 90-day intervals after the initial report. The bill changes the interval between follow-up reports to a maximum of six months.