RCW 70.96B.010
Definitions. (Expires July 1, 2008.)
The
definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless
the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Admission" or "admit" means a decision by a physician
that a person should be examined or treated as a patient in a
hospital, an evaluation and treatment facility, or other
inpatient facility, or a decision by a professional person in
charge or his or her designee that a person should be detained as
a patient for evaluation and treatment in a secure detoxification
facility or other certified chemical dependency provider.
(2) "Antipsychotic medications" means that class of drugs
primarily used to treat serious manifestations of mental illness
associated with thought disorders, which includes but is not
limited to atypical antipsychotic medications.
(3) "Approved treatment program" means a discrete program of
chemical dependency treatment provided by a treatment program
certified by the department as meeting standards adopted under
chapter 70.96A RCW.
(4) "Attending staff" means any person on the staff of a
public or private agency having responsibility for the care and
treatment of a patient.
(5) "Chemical dependency" means:
(a) Alcoholism;
(b) Drug addiction; or
(c) Dependence on alcohol and one or more other psychoactive
chemicals, as the context requires.
(6) "Chemical dependency professional" means a person
certified as a chemical dependency professional by the department
of health under chapter 18.205 RCW.
(7) "Commitment" means the determination by a court that a
person should be detained for a period of either evaluation or
treatment, or both, in an inpatient or a less restrictive
setting.
(8) "Conditional release" means a revocable modification of
a commitment that may be revoked upon violation of any of its
terms.
(9) "Custody" means involuntary detention under either
chapter 71.05 or 70.96A RCW or this chapter, uninterrupted by any
period of unconditional release from commitment from a facility
providing involuntary care and treatment.
(10) "Department" means the department of social and health
services.
(11) "Designated chemical dependency specialist" or
"specialist" means a person designated by the county alcoholism
and other drug addiction program coordinator designated under RCW 70.96A.310 to perform the commitment duties described in RCW 70.96A.140 and this chapter, and qualified to do so by meeting
standards adopted by the department.
(12) "Designated crisis responder" means a person designated
by the county or regional support network to perform the duties
specified in this chapter.
(13) "Designated mental health professional" means a mental
health professional designated by the county or other authority
authorized in rule to perform the duties specified in this
chapter.
(14) "Detention" or "detain" means the lawful confinement of
a person under this chapter, or chapter 70.96A or 71.05 RCW.
(15) "Developmental disabilities professional" means a
person who has specialized training and three years of experience
in directly treating or working with individuals with
developmental disabilities and is a psychiatrist, psychologist,
or social worker, and such other developmental disabilities
professionals as may be defined by rules adopted by the
secretary.
(16) "Developmental disability" means that condition defined
in RCW 71A.10.020.
(17) "Discharge" means the termination of facility
authority. The commitment may remain in place, be terminated, or
be amended by court order.
(18) "Evaluation and treatment facility" means any facility
that can provide directly, or by direct arrangement with other
public or private agencies, emergency evaluation and treatment,
outpatient care, and timely and appropriate inpatient care to
persons suffering from a mental disorder, and that is certified
as such by the department. A physically separate and separately
operated portion of a state hospital may be designated as an
evaluation and treatment facility. A facility that is part of,
or operated by, the department or any federal agency does not
require certification. No correctional institution or facility,
or jail, may be an evaluation and treatment facility within the
meaning of this chapter.
(19) "Facility" means either an evaluation and treatment
facility or a secure detoxification facility.
(20) "Gravely disabled" means a condition in which a person,
as a result of a mental disorder, or as a result of the use of
alcohol or other psychoactive chemicals:
(a) Is in danger of serious physical harm resulting from a
failure to provide for his or her essential human needs of health
or safety; or
(b) Manifests severe deterioration in routine functioning
evidenced by repeated and escalating loss of cognitive or
volitional control over his or her actions and is not receiving
such care as is essential for his or her health or safety.
(21) "History of one or more violent acts" refers to the
period of time ten years before the filing of a petition under
this chapter, or chapter 70.96A or 71.05 RCW, excluding any time
spent, but not any violent acts committed, in a mental health
facility or a long-term alcoholism or drug treatment facility, or
in confinement as a result of a criminal conviction.
(22) "Intoxicated person" means a person whose mental or
physical functioning is substantially impaired as a result of the
use of alcohol or other psychoactive chemicals.
(23) "Judicial commitment" means a commitment by a court
under this chapter.
(24) "Licensed physician" means a person licensed to
practice medicine or osteopathic medicine and surgery in the
state of Washington.
(25) "Likelihood of serious harm" means:
(a) A substantial risk that:
(i) Physical harm will be inflicted by a person upon his or
her own person, as evidenced by threats or attempts to commit
suicide or inflict physical harm on oneself;
(ii) Physical harm will be inflicted by a person upon
another, as evidenced by behavior that has caused such harm or
that places another person or persons in reasonable fear of
sustaining such harm; or
(iii) Physical harm will be inflicted by a person upon the
property of others, as evidenced by behavior that has caused
substantial loss or damage to the property of others; or
(b) The person has threatened the physical safety of another
and has a history of one or more violent acts.
(26) "Mental disorder" means any organic, mental, or
emotional impairment that has substantial adverse effects on a
person's cognitive or volitional functions.
(27) "Mental health professional" means a psychiatrist,
psychologist, psychiatric nurse, or social worker, and such other
mental health professionals as may be defined by rules adopted by
the secretary under the authority of chapter 71.05 RCW.
(28) "Peace officer" means a law enforcement official of a
public agency or governmental unit, and includes persons
specifically given peace officer powers by any state law, local
ordinance, or judicial order of appointment.
(29) "Person in charge" means a physician or chemical
dependency counselor as defined in rule by the department, who is
empowered by a certified treatment program with authority to make
assessment, admission, continuing care, and discharge decisions
on behalf of the certified program.
(30) "Private agency" means any person, partnership,
corporation, or association that is not a public agency, whether
or not financed in whole or in part by public funds, that
constitutes an evaluation and treatment facility or private
institution, or hospital, or approved treatment program, that is
conducted for, or includes a department or ward conducted for,
the care and treatment of persons who are mentally ill and/or chemically dependent.
(31) "Professional person" means a mental health
professional or chemical dependency professional and shall also
mean a physician, registered nurse, and such others as may be
defined by rules adopted by the secretary pursuant to the
provisions of this chapter.
(32) "Psychiatrist" means a person having a license as a
physician and surgeon in this state who has in addition completed
three years of graduate training in psychiatry in a program
approved by the American medical association or the American
osteopathic association and is certified or eligible to be
certified by the American board of psychiatry and neurology.
(33) "Psychologist" means a person who has been licensed as
a psychologist under chapter 18.83 RCW.
(34) "Public agency" means any evaluation and treatment
facility or institution, or hospital, or approved treatment
program that is conducted for, or includes a department or ward
conducted for, the care and treatment of persons who are mentally ill and/or chemically dependent, if the agency is
operated directly by federal, state, county, or municipal
government, or a combination of such governments.
(35) "Registration records" means all the records of the
department, regional support networks, treatment facilities, and
other persons providing services to the department, county
departments, or facilities which identify persons who are
receiving or who at any time have received services for mental
illness.
(36) "Release" means legal termination of the commitment
under chapter 70.96A or 71.05 RCW or this chapter.
(37) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department or
the secretary's designee.
(38) "Secure detoxification facility" means a facility
operated by either a public or private agency or by the program
of an agency that serves the purpose of providing evaluation and
assessment, and acute and/or subacute detoxification services for
intoxicated persons and includes security measures sufficient to
protect the patients, staff, and community.
(39) "Social worker" means a person with a master's or
further advanced degree from an accredited school of social work
or a degree deemed equivalent under rules adopted by the
secretary.
(40) "Treatment records" means registration records and all
other records concerning persons who are receiving or who at any
time have received services for mental illness, which are
maintained by the department, by regional support networks and
their staffs, and by treatment facilities. Treatment records do
not include notes or records maintained for personal use by a
person providing treatment services for the department, regional
support networks, or a treatment facility if the notes or records
are not available to others.
(41) "Violent act" means behavior that resulted in homicide,
attempted suicide, nonfatal injuries, or substantial damage to
property.
[2005 c 504 § 202.]
NOTES:
Findings -- Intent -- Severability -- Application -- Construction -- Captions, part headings, subheadings not law -- Adoption of rules -- Effective dates -- 2005 c 504: See notes following RCW 71.05.027.
Alphabetization -- Correction of references -- 2005 c 504: See note following RCW 71.05.020.