ROBERT B. WILLIAMS, ADMINISTRATOR, FLORIDA STATE HOSPITAL, APPELLANT,
v.
EVELYN BEARD, MAMIE CHAPMAN, DUANE REED ROBINSON, ELAINE GORDON, LEAH MILLER, VELMA SEXTON NEWTON, CHESTER BENNETT, CLIFFORD MCNAMARA, WALTER STARNES, LEOLA BATHEA, HENRY BROWN, ANNA DEAN, NANCY LARRY, CHESTER STARKES, JAMES WRIGHT, CHARLES ALFORD, MARTHA BURTON, TALMADGE MABRY, MELVIN GILLION, GILBERT BERGER, APPELLEES
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The Florida State Hospital Administrator appealed the dismissal of requests for continued involuntary psychiatric placement of hospital patients. The court affirmed dismissals for all but one patient (Starnes), holding that requests filed after expiration of the previous placement period were untimely, except where the patient's admission date, rather than court order date, controlled the six-month retention period.
Requests for continued involuntary placement filed after expiration of the previous placement period were properly dismissed as untimely for all patients except Starnes. For Starnes, the six-month retention period runs from the date of admission to the treatment facility, not from the date the court signed the placement order. Accordingly, Starnes' request filed November 17, 1981, was timely because it was within six months of his May 19, 1981 admission, even though more than six months had passed since the May 14, 1981 court order.
[1] A request for continued involuntary placement of a patient must be filed prior to the expiration of the patient's current authorized retention period.
[2] A patient's involuntary placement period in a treatment facility begins on the date of admission, not the date of the court order authorizing placement, unless otherwise…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“such requests are to be filled prior to the expiration of the period during which the treatment facility is authorized to retain the patient”
Establishes the statutory requirement for timely filing of continued placement requests under § 394.467(4)(a)
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe Administrator filed requests for continued involuntary placement of 20 patients at Florida State Hospital. A hearing officer dismissed all request…
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THOMPSON, Judge.
The Administrator of the Florida State Hospital appeals the orders dismissing his requests for continued involuntary placement of appellees, who were patients at Florida State Hospital. For the reasons enunciated below we affirm the dismissals of the requests for continued involuntary placement of all the appellees except Walter Starnes.
Appellant filed requests for continued involuntary placement of each appellee. Pursuant to § 394.467(4)(a), Fla.Stat. (1981), such requests are to be filled prior to the expiration of the period during which the treatment facility is authorized to retain the patient.” Since the hearing officer found that each of the requests was untimely filed, he dismissed each request for lack of jurisdiction. Appellant argues that this was error. Since the requests for continued involuntary placement. of each appellee, with the exception of appellee Starnes, were filed after the expiration of each appellee’s previous placement period, we find that the hearing officer properly dismissed each request except the request relating to appellee Starnes.
We agree with the appellant’s argument that the hearing officer improperly dismissed the request for continued involuntary placement of Starnes. Although the involuntary placement of Starnes for a period not to exceed six months was ordered by the circuit court on May 14,1981, according to appellant’s request for such placement, Starnes was not admitted to Florida State Hospital until May 19, 1981. Accordingly, the request for continued involuntary placement of Starnes, filed November 17, 1981, was filed within six months of his admission to the treatment facility, but was not filed within six months of the date the court signed his involuntary placement order. Since § 394.467(2), Fla.Stat., relating to admission to a treatment facility on an involuntary basis, indicates that a patient may be retained by the facility for “a period not to exceed 6 months from the date of admission,” and since the order does not state otherwise, we find that Starnes’ placement period did not end until six months from the date he was admitted to Florida State Hospital. Accordingly, the request for continued involuntary placement of Starnes was timely filed on November 17, 1981.
In conclusion, we affirm the dismissal of each request for continued involuntary placement except for the dismissal of the request as to Starnes. However, we stay the issuance of the mandate for thirty days from the date that it would otherwise issue under Fla.R.App.P. 9.340 so that the appellant may have an opportunity to seek involuntary placement of the patients involved herein under § 394.467, Fla.Stat., if such action is felt to be necessary and advisable.
ROBERT P. SMITH, Jr., C.J., and SHIVERS, J., concur.