PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Maine is updating its involuntary commitment process following a state supreme court ruling that said psychiatric patients may not be held for extended periods in emergency rooms without a judge getting involved.
The Maine Supreme Judicial Court’s decision enforces a limit of five days, with a judge’s approval, after which the clock resets. Jackie Farwell, Maine DHHS spokesperson, said details are still being worked out by the the Office of Behavioral Health on new rules to reflect the new precedent.
The court ruled unanimously in favor of a patient who was held for a month against his will last year in the LincolnHealth Miles Campus Hospital emergency room in Damariscotta.
