Rule 82-8-1-.03 - Designation as Emergency Receiving, Evaluating and Treatment FacilitiesThe department may designate as an Emergency Receiving, Evaluating, and/or Treatment Facility any private facility or any such portion of a community mental health and substance abuse program which complies with the standards for a CSU within the State of Georgia at the request of or with the consent of the governing officers of such facility.
(1) A VA hospital may lawfully act as an emergency receiving facility, evaluating facility, or treatment facility pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 37-3-102(a)without having been designated as such by the department.(2) Any private facility or any CSU requesting approval and designation as an Emergency Receiving, Evaluating, or Treatment Facility will make application on forms approved by the department.(3) Any Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU), to be eligible for designation, shall be a part of a comprehensive community mental health and substance abuse program which comprehensive program has been certified by DBHDD, to be in compliance with applicable DBHDD Provider Manuals.(4) Any private facility seeking designation by the department must attest that it is compliant with, and must maintain compliance with, the requirements pertaining to emergency receiving, evaluation, and treatment facilities set forth in State of Georgia Rules and Regulations for Hospitals (Georgia Comp. R. & Regs § 111-8-40-.37) and Guidelines for the Design and Construction of Hospitals and Healthcare Facilities. The private facility must submit its attestation of compliance annually.(5) The facility designated will provide only those emergency receiving, evaluation and/or treatment services for which it has received prior approval from DBHDD.(6) If a facility already designated as an Emergency Receiving Facility, an Evaluating Facility, and/or a Treatment Facility wishes to add an additional designation, such additional designation requires approval from DBHDD. (For example, if a facility designated only as an Emergency Receiving Facility wishes also to be designated as an Evaluating Facility, DBHDD must approve and confer such designation.)(7) If a facility moves to a different location, the facility must submit a new application to DBHDD, which will follow its procedure in designating the new facility location as an Emergency Receiving, Evaluating, and/or Treatment Facility. A facility's designation is not transferrable to another location.(8) The facility must remain in compliance with the CMS regulations and accrediting body standards. (a) When the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) or any accrediting body makes any findings related to a designated facility's Emergency Receiving, Evaluation, and/or Treatment services, the facility must provide DBHDD with those findings within 30 days of the date on which the findings are communicated to the facility.(b) Additionally, a copy of any corrective action plan (including any amended corrective action plan or in-process corrective action plan) developed by the facility in response to such findings must be forwarded to DBHDD by the facility within 30 days of the date on which the facility communicates the corrective action plan to CMS or the accrediting body.(9) If a designated facility is notified that it will lose or has lost any license, or will incur or has incurred a restriction or suspension of any license, the designated facility must notify DBHDD within 24 hours of its receipt of such notice.(10) If a designated facility wishes to remove one or more of its own designations, the facility shall give written notice to DBHDD at least 30 days in advance of the date on which it intends to cease operating under that designation.(11) As the department is the best suited entity to determine which facility will be the nearest of its available facilities to which an individual needing admission may be admitted, and as O.C.G.A. § 37-3-100(a) and O.C.G.A. § 37-7-100(a)provide the department with discretion to designate the state-owned or state-operated facility to which an individual will be admitted for emergency receiving, evaluation, and/or treatment, the department shall establish, maintain, and make publicly available procedures by which a determination is made to which state-owned or state-operated facility an individual will be admitted in the event that the individual is not admitted to a private facility. The department shall make every effort to encourage any person or entity responsible for transporting or for directing transport of an individual to a facility under the terms of Title 37, Chapter 3 and Chapter 7, to make use of these procedures.(12) As O.C.G.A. § 37-3-100(a) and O.C.G.A. § 37-7-100(a)provide that the department may designate a private facility as the facility to which an individual is to be admitted for emergency receiving, evaluation, and/or treatment if the department has obtained prior agreement of the private facility, a private facility may decline admission to an individual or limit admission to a class of individuals where such declination is otherwise lawful. Private facilities are reminded that they may be required to comply with the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and other applicable federal laws.(13) The department possesses the discretion, under O.C.G.A. § 37-3-100(d) and O.C.G.A. § 37-7-100(d), to transfer an individual from one state-owned or state-operated facility to another state-owned or state-operated facility. (a) Such a transfer may be directed to accomplish efficient utilization of a facility as determined by the facility and the department.(b) Individuals in voluntary legal status may only be transferred with their consent.(c) Notice of any such transfer shall be provided to the individual and the individual's representatives, and the individual shall be informed in writing as to the reasons for the transfer.(14) If a private facility or an individual requests a transfer of an individual who has been admitted to a private facility under Title 37, Chapter 3 or Chapter 7, from the private facility to a state-owned or state-operated facility, and the individual meets criteria for admission to the department's facility, the department is required to accept admission of the individual to the state-owned or state-operated facility that the department determines is the most appropriate.(15) If an individual hospitalized in a state-owned or state-operated facility under Title 37, Chapter 3 or Chapter 7, requests transfer to a private facility, the department shall transfer the individual to the facility if (i) the individual can pay for the individual's treatment at the private facility and (ii) the private facility agrees to accept the individual.(16) As set forth in O.C.G.A. § 37-3-101 and O.C.G.A. § 37-7-101, the governing body of the county of residence of the individual involved is required, subject to Court direction, to arrange for emergency transport to an emergency receiving facility. The governing body of the county of residence of the individual involved further bears responsibility for all required transportation for mental health purposes subsequent to the initial transport. (a) When an individual is in the care of a facility, the facility may determine the manner of non-emergency transport required for purposes of treatment of an individual. It may request the appropriate county governing body to provide such transportation. If the facility arranges on its own for such transportation to be accomplished by a party other than the Sheriff of the appropriate county, the county shall not be billed, and the facility may bill the individual. (b) In non-emergency situations, no female shall be transported without another female being in attendance unless the person transporting the female is the female's husband, father, adult brother, or adult son, as required by O.C.G.A. § 37-3-101 and O.C.G.A. § 37-7-101.(17) The department shall by December 31, 2021, develop and maintain policies that set forth the manner and frequency in which de-identified, aggregated data is reported to the department pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 37-3-40 and O.C.G.A. § 37-7-40.(18) Failure to submit the information required by O.C.G.A. § 37-3-40 and O.C.G.A. § 37-7-40shall result in the suspension of a facility's designation as an emergency receiving facility until the required reports are submitted to the department.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 82-8-1-.03
O.C.G.A. Secs. 40, 60, 80 of Chaps. 3 and 7 of Title 37; O.C.G.A. §§ 37-3-6, 37-7-7.
Original Rule entitled "Designation as Emergency Receiving, Evaluating and Treatment Facilities" adopted. F. Dec. 15, 2021; eff. Jan. 4, 2022.